Substance
by Mendeia
Summary: Arc 3 of The Temple Steps Alight series. The Quests are settling into life in Cascade, from studying at Rainier to expanding SELF and providing a true refuge for Sentinels in need, until an unexpected development threatens to rip Sentinel from Guide. The solution risks Jim's and Jonny's lives, though it may bring unparalleled discoveries - if they survive.
1. Chapter 1

Time is the substance from which I am made. Time is a river which carries me along, but I am the river; it is a tiger that devours me, but I am the tiger; it is a fire that consumes me, but I am the fire.

-Jorge Luis Borges

-==OOO==-

Jonny looked up at the 10-story monolith that was his freshman dorm. "I've seen friendlier prisons."

Benton laughed. "It's not the mansion, I'll give you that! But the facilities here are quite modern. You'll be fine."

Jonny nodded. Shouldering the huge bag that had been Race's Navy seabag, he took a deep breath. _Come on_ , he told himself. _I am 18-years old, I've survived supervillains and near misses with the end of the world, and this is what I've been waiting for. I am not scared of college. I am not_.

Even so, he wished he'd agreed to move in one at a time rather than splitting up. A few blocks away, Race was helping Jessie find her room and haul in her stuff, while all the way across campus, Hadji was getting settled in his own new living space. Jonny still felt bad that his dad wasn't able to be in two places at once, even if Hadji did have the next best thing to the man who had adopted him or Race who had helped raise them both – Blair was with him.

Jonny wondered if Jessie and Hadji were getting the same weird looks he was. There weren't a whole lot of new students starting in January, so their trunks of stuff stood out. At least Jonny could be grateful neither Jessie nor Hadji had sharp enough hearing to have to ignore the wondering comments. That, at least, was something Jonny could spare his brother; Doctor Benton Quest was well-known in general and something of a scientific celebrity at Rainier, so Jonny was probably getting quadruple the attention compared to the others. Hadji was going to have it tough enough already and probably didn't need the whispers about his father along with everything else.

But still, even if this was more efficient, even if it spared Jessie and Hadji the curious onlookers drawn by the presence of Doctor Quest, Jonny still wished they were doing this together. It felt so strange to be taking this step without Jessie on one side and Hadji at his other.

He couldn't help it. Jonny stretched out his Sentinel hearing, trying to hone in on his Guide. The campus wasn't more than a couple of miles across…if he could only filter out the thousands of people between them…

"Don't even think about it," came a sudden voice right beside his ear.

Jonny jumped, almost tipping over when he upset the weight of the heavy seabag.

"Don't you dare start practicing listening for Hadji when we have all this stuff to carry," his father admonished him with a smile. "And remember not to do it without someone acting as a safety net until you get practiced with it. I know better than to forbid you from it altogether."

Jonny smiled ruefully. "But it's okay if I do it later?"

Benton nodded. "Of course. I can't really expect you not to hone in on him or Jessie. But wait until we're inside at least." Privately, Benton would have preferred that his three children were in closer quarters, even the same building, and not just to ease the instinctive worry of his Sentinel son. They would all feel better if they were together as they always had been. But this was not something he could prevent happening at least for now. Besides, Jessie, Jonny, and Hadji should probably learn to live separate lives – as separate as they would allow, anyway – so that they could establish themselves as individuals. That would be hard enough for Jonny and Hadji as Sentinel and Guide as it was; Benton was not about to make waves with the university to ensure they were roommates or something.

 _Though_ , he mused to himself _, the chance that anything could actually part those boys is so unlikely I'm not sure we have a small enough number for it yet. But they need the opportunity to let it happen or to refuse it_.

"Come on, son," Benton grabbed the handle of the large trunk on wheels he had purchased for just this day. "Let's go find your room."

"The welcome packet says I'm in 605," Jonny said. "I hope there's an elevator."

There was, and it was a fairly quick ride, though they were crammed in with other students returning from winter break. Many students had a suitcase or a bulging backpack, but none had parents. Jonny tried to ignore the stares some more.

The sixth floor that greeted Jonny and Benton was bright and colorful. The walls of the corridors were covered with stout tile which had become one massive canvas like a giant white-board for creative or simply bored students. Outside each room, it appeared the inhabitants had decorated their living spaces, and Jonny learned a lot about his floormates just from their depictions. Some rooms had very minimal drawings around them, or a lopsided representation. Some rooms showed day-and-night sorts of opposites with the wall on one side of the door done in rainbow cheerful images while the other side looked like the inside of a sinister cave. Many students who had already arrived were out in the hall, scribbling with dry-erase markers to update their works of art. And the walls served as message-boards as well. Jonny passed reminders to clean up the floor kitchen and lounge, not to smoke even in the rooms, to study and sleep (the words "remember to sleep" were _everywhere_ ), and many students used a spot near their doors to proclaim their whereabouts. "Gone to lunch" or "Back on Tuesday at 4pm" or "Out with the guys – Ben, where the hell are you?" were the immediate neighbors to Jonny's door labeled 605.

"It should be open," Benton said, following his son and distinctly smirking at Jonny's clear embarrassment at certain words that he felt odd reading in his father's presence.

"There's someone already here," Jonny said before he touched the doorknob. He shifted his shoulders and opened the door. "Um, hi?"

"Hey," came a surprisingly low voice. The room was rectangular, with beds on either wall and the desks face-to-face in the middle against the windows. Unpacking on the right-hand side was a young man easily a head and shoulders taller than Jonny. "You my roommate?"

"Yeah," Jonny said, striding in and claiming the other bed. "I'm Jonny Quest." Then, glancing back, "This is my dad."

"Nice to meet you," the huge stranger nodded. "I'm Eric Faulk. Lucky to have a roommate who didn't already take over during the first semester. I thought for sure I'd get here and there wouldn't be anything but a corner set aside for me." He smiled good-naturedly.

"You're starting a term early, too?" Jonny asked.

Eric shook his head. "Late."

"Oh." Jonny didn't have anything to say to that without sounding nosy, so he focused on opening his duffel to dig out his sheets.

"You got more than that?" Eric asked, pointing to the big trunk being rolled by Doctor Quest. "Need help hauling it up?"

"Not really," Jonny shrugged. He was used to traveling light, and besides, he had another room in Cascade already up at the SELF lodge. "Thanks though."

"No problem."

"So, Eric," Benton said, moving to talk and giving his son a few minutes to sort out his belongings, "do you know what you'll be studying yet?"

A light of challenge lit in Eric's eyes. "Econ and business."

"Cool!" Jonny enthused genuinely as he threw his favorite pillow on the bed. He could also tell that Eric, looking more like a couple of football players piled into one giant, expected to be treated like a dumb jock just because he looked like one. Jonny was usually on the other end of that – being treated like a weakling because he wasn't huge – and felt a sudden affinity for him.

"Excellent choice," Benton approved. "Maybe you'll be able to teach Jonny a few things."

"Dad!" Jonny protested with more attitude than actual offense.

Eric laughed. "Not gonna be teaching anybody yet, but I'll let you know." He looked to his new roommate. "What about you? Got a major yet?"

"Uh, not really," Jonny hesitated.

"You'll figure it out," Benton said. Then his phone beeped in his pocket and he drew it out. "Ah, Race just sent us a message. He says he and Jess are just about done if you want to meet up with them and go check on Hadji."

"Oh. Um…" Jonny turned to look at Eric. On the one hand, he absolutely, positively wanted to go check out where Jessie was living and what her roommate was like and, more urgently to the Sentinel, what Hadji's place was like and if he was going to be okay. But he also hated to run out on a guy he'd just met with whom he'd be living for half a year.

"Already got friends here?" Eric asked.

"Yeah. We all started at the same time," Jonny explained.

Eric nodded. Jonny felt instinctively drawn to open his senses on this new person, so he did, quickly sweeping his roommate with his enhanced sight, smell, and hearing. With months of intensive practice, he sorted the unimportant (generic shampoo and deodorant, slightly damp clothing from being outside, ate probably a power bar for lunch) from the more telling. Eric smelled…isolated. If Jonny scented his father, he'd pick up himself and Race and Jessie and Hadji and Bandit and maybe even a hint of Jim and Blair with whom they'd exchanged handshakes at the airport and shared breakfast that morning. But no smell of others clung to Eric as if he hadn't come into close contact with anyone in a while. And though he was showing a neutral, uninterested expression, his heart-beat was not as steady as it had been.

Jonny made a decision. "Come with us. It's not like you won't see tons of Jess and Hadji anyway since we're practically always together, so you can meet them now if you want. Unless you'd rather finish unpacking?"

Eric's smile made his enormously broad face suddenly look his age. "Nah, the stuff can wait. I'd love to get out of here."

"It's raining," Benton pointed out with a small smile at his son's judgment.

"Then I better lend you an umbrella," Jonny smiled at his new friend.

-==OOO==-

By dinner-time, it was quite a crowd who found themselves piling into a local pizzeria. Jonny, Benton, and Eric had met up with Race and Jessie and her new roommate, Lai, before heading across campus to join Hadji and Blair. They'd arrived not long before Simon Banks appeared with Daryl, who was also moving in today. Hadji had two roommates, but neither had been interested in joining the party, in spite of the amiable way Blair chatted with one. So the nine of them had made for Daryl's favorite spot near the university.

Pulling up to the place about ten minutes late, Jim could have located his tribe by his Guide's voice alone, but the racket that whole crew made when lumped together was loud enough even to turn the heads of non-Sentinels. He carefully dialed down his hearing before entering the restaurant, eyes unerringly spotting his people taking up an entire corner.

"Jim!" Blair waved him over. "We saved you some Alfredo veggie pizza!"

"Sandburg, you're going to be walking home in the rain if that's true," he grumbled as he settled in.

Simon laughed. "Some of these jokers _tried_ , but Jonny and I swiped some of the real stuff for you," he handed over a plate with several pieces of meat-lovers' pizza.

"Good to know who's got my back," Jim eyed the guilty-looking Blair, Jessie, and Benton. As he munched, though, he nudged Race Bannon sitting on his other side. The table talk was turning to class registration and it was a competition of loud chatter, more than enough to cover his soft words. "Break it down for me."

Race nodded, turning to the welcome-packet folder he'd kept for himself, though the pages it was stuffed with were quite different from those received by the students. Thanks to their friends at the DHS, he had a complete file on each of these strangers who would be dangerously close to the kids. In a voice much softer than a whisper, he began to summarize; only the pair of Sentinels would have been able to tell he wasn't just reading to himself.

"Jonny's roommate is Eric Faulk, age 20. He was a boxer and made a couple of runs at the Olympics before a bad hit in the ring gave him a career-ending concussion. Also known to practice MMA fighting. Clean arrest record, parents divorced and largely out of the picture. Got a scholarship to Rainier with a good GED score and strong recommendations from teammates and coaches."

Jim looked over the kid and could see the distinctive remains of injuries particularly around the face and knuckles that showed him how hard and how often the kid had boxed.

"Jessie's is Lai Gardner, age 19, daughter of a Chinese diplomat and a British national. Benton knows her mom from international circles – she's one of the good guys though she isn't in on SELF. Her dad was an English Lit teacher and took up Lai's schooling when they were moving around. She spent the last semester traveling around Europe and Africa before starting late and she's already made it clear she wants to follow her mom into political science." He smirked. "She's a real spitfire."

Jim took in the girl's black-brown dreadlocks, her knit sweater that looked almost exactly like one Blair had at the loft, and the big stone jewelry around her neck. But where the Jim before Blair Sandburg might have written her off as a granola hippie, Sentinel Jim caught her sharp intellect and how she seemed almost able to recite the course catalog from memory in her lilting British accent. He nodded at Race – he could see why the man was comfortable with this choice for his daughter.

"Hadji's situation is a little different," Race continued. "He's had a lot more formal education than the average freshman because of his studies with Benton, and he's almost got enough credits to graduate already. So the university put him in a suite with a couple of guys in the accelerated Master's program." He paused and nodded towards Blair. "It was kind of his idea I think. One's an anthropology major who is also working as a TA for the year named Christian Reese, and, seriously, it's like I met Blair from ten years earlier but even more so. Clean record, nothing odd in the background check. Age 24."

Jim imagined the kid he'd first met, jamming to really loud rock and grinning like the whole world was sunshine and candy even in the face of a stoic cop, and hid a smile.

"The other guy is a history major named Otto Bohn, age 25. He didn't talk much when we met him, but his file's clean. He's done a lot of field research and volunteering with elderly veterans, but there's not much else about him that stands out. Except he's got absolutely _no_ sense of humor about his name." Race looked up. "Jonny tried teasing him and it didn't go over well."

Jim shrugged. He didn't care if every kid on the list was a total stick-in-the-mud as long as they weren't liable to hurt his tribe. Then he noticed Simon scowling.

"What about Daryl?" he whispered to Race.

Race cringed. In that same undertone, he answered, "Well, looks like Daryl got the short end of the stick. The guy's not dangerous, but he's no good. Marchello D'Amore has already been through two roommates this year – both the freshmen they put with him asked for a transfer. Plus he's got a little history with vandalism and that sort of thing. Seems like he's a real jerk and he's only 18." He looked up. "Good thing Daryl's got these guys."

Jim watched the young people interact and had to agree with that statement. The three Quests, plus Daryl, seemed fairly comfortable with Lai and Eric. If nothing else, that would give Daryl someplace to turn if he got in over his head with his own roommate. And Blair would be watching out for him, too.

Jim was suddenly glad that SELF was still little more than an elaborate cabin in the woods with really good security. He wanted the kids to have a while in this world, get the real college experience, before all of a sudden Jonny and Jessie and Hadji would be pulling double-duty not only as students but as some of the only locals the inbound Sentinels could count on. Benton and Race would be staying up at the lodge while the Sentinels "got settled" which, realistically, could take months, but it was Jim and Blair to whom they would look. Benton and Race and Simon meant well, but these Sentinels trusted only their own. And before long that would include Jonny and Hadji, too, even if the kids weren't going to be part of the Council. But the ship full of Sentinels wouldn't arrive for at least another month if not two, so that bought a precious few weeks for the kids to be just that – kids.

But just then Hadji and Jonny looked up from whatever was under discussion and, as their eyes met, Jim could feel it, that tugging, instinctive _rightness_. He couldn't help but reach over to sling an arm around Blair.

 _They may be just kids_ , he thought to himself, _but I think they have become a Sentinel and a Guide first_.

-==OOO==-

"I can't…believe you…Jonny Quest!" Jessie panted. "You were supposed…to meet me…10 minutes ago. It's only been…two weeks! How are you… _already_ …late?"

"Yell later!" he called back. Jonny careened around the corner of a building, his feet sliding in the wet, slushy mud. It took a wild skid and windmilling his arms to keep from crashing into the building's stone steps. Instead, he turned the momentum of his almost-fall into a lateral leap over a massive puddle and back onto the sidewalk, where he darted through other students, most of whom were in a rush too, if not for class, then to get out of the freezing rain. Jonny hit the back door of the anthropology building only a few steps ahead of Jessie, and they both dove into the warm and dry stairwell.

Jonny was about to charge up the steps but his Guide's voice reached him from somewhere within Hargrove Hall – it took no effort for Jonny to hear when he'd been listening for Hadji at least passively all morning. "Do not worry, my friend. Blair has not yet arrived to give his lecture. He stopped to visit someone in the department office just a moment ago. You have a minute or two to catch your breath."

Jonny grinned and leaned on the wall, wiping water out of his eyes. Jessie was about to sprint on but she caught his sudden ease and drew the correct conclusion. She pulled off her soaked knit hat and shook out her hair. "I take it Hadji is delaying Blair again."

"He never does it intentionally," Jonny defended him even as he began up the stairs at a more normal pace. "They just get talking, and especially with all the Guide stuff they're writing down for when we need it, they get caught up. Knowing Hadj, he always reminds Blair with exactly five minutes to go, and Blair just wants to finish _one_ _more_ _thing_."

Jessie laughed. "You're probably right."

They entered the lecture hall in which Blair was giving his Anthropology 101 course, still shaking water from everywhere. Other students looked just as wet and cold, and a few with whom Jessie and Jonny had become friendly in the first few classes grinned ruefully. Daryl pulled a dry towel from where he'd kept one in his backpack – a neat trick Jim taught him years ago – and passed it to Jessie who sighed blissfully as she ran it over her face and hands. Jonny had just gotten into his chair and pulled off his own sodden coat when Blair burst in the door at the front of the room.

"Happy Monday morning in _beautiful_ Cascade!" he said with a bright grin. "How're your first papers coming? Okay? Still due on Friday even if the campus drowns," he waved outside. "Now, onto today's subject…"

In the presence of another Guide plus Jessie to keep an eye on him, Jonny felt safe enough to stretch out his hearing, quickly pinpointing Hadji in what had become one of his favorite spots – a small alcove with a padded bench that looked out over most of the campus. It was high on the fourth floor, and so overlooked by most students who only ever passed through the first few levels of the building. But it was the perfect spot on a Monday morning for Hadji to sit after his own early start to either begin on homework or meditate while he waited for the Anthro 101 class to end, after which Jessie, Jonny, Hadji, Daryl, and Blair would often meet for lunch along with any of the students who tended to flock around Blair like so many geese. Knowing Hadji was close reassured Jonny enough for him to draw back most of his awareness, even if he kept a part of his hearing fixed on that familiar heart-beat and the steady rhythm of Hadji's resting breathing.

Jonny had settled into taking notes happily, enjoying his friend's lecture and increasingly admiring his genuine gift for teaching with every day he spent in the far more tedious courses on his schedule (he had managed to test out of a language requirement and the 100 level computer science, but the required American Lit class was driving him _crazy_ ) when he stiffened. Hadji's heart-rate had increased and now his Guide was on the move.

Blair, mid-lecture, saw Jonny tense. He watched all his students, of course, but he kept a special eye on Jessie, Jonny, and Daryl. So when the Sentinel started showing classic listening posture, Blair took note. Thus he was not totally surprised when the door behind him opened after a quiet knock.

"Forgive me, Doctor Sandburg," came Hadji's gentle, polite tone. The Guides' eyes met and Hadji unerringly passed a message of urgency to his friend. "Could you please spare a moment to discuss something?"

Blair's throat tightened and he nodded. He turned back to his class. "Okay. As good a time as any for an exercise. Break into pairs or small groups and come up with one issue of cultural bias at work in the reading from the weekend. Be ready to get called on." Then he retreated.

Jessie quickly scooted her chair to Jonny, cutting off anyone else and using her positioning to clearly state that they would be working as a twosome. Pulling out her notebook, she took advantage the confusion of shifting desks and the beginning babble of discussion to say quietly, "Go ahead and listen in. I'll cover for you. Just don't zone on me."

Jonny flashed her a thumbs up. Then he cast out his hearing once more.

"What's going on?" Blair was asking.

"I'm sorry to pull you out of your class," came a voice Jonny took a moment to place – it was Chris, one of Hadji's roommates. "But…I was wondering if you had seen Mark Peterson yet this semester?"

"Mark? No, I haven't."

"Oh god," and then there was the sound of someone sitting heavily.

"I will continue," came Hadji's soothing voice as he, too, sat. "Just regain your composure." Jonny could hear the slide of skin over fabric and felt pretty sure his Guide was rubbing Chris's back.

"What is it?" Blair's voice and his heart-rate notched up with stress.

"Chris received a call late last night from a woman who identified herself as the mother of Mark Peterson. She was rather frantic. From what I understand, her son was supposed to return home for winter break but sent her a last-minute email saying he would be remaining on campus. However, she had not heard from him since that time, and Chris has been unable to locate him."

"Is there any chance he dropped out?" Blair asked, and Jonny could hear the increasing worry in his voice.

"No _way_ ," Chris said. "We were all set to start up a TA support group in the Anthro department, help each other out since we've never done it before. And he would have told me if he wasn't coming back. He _would_."

"Chris," Blair said gently. The bench creaked with the weight of a third person. "Chris, is there something…?"

"We…he asked me out," Chris managed after a minute. "We were supposed to have our first date tonight. He…he'd been planning it since before winter break."

"Okay," Blair said, infusing his words with a practiced, warm calm that could steady the worst of shot nerves. "It's going to be all right. I'll put in a call to my partner right now. Maybe somebody reported something." There was a pause, then a deep breath. "I can't promise this is going to end well, Chris, but we'll find answers."

Chris gave a shaky reply, and Hadji took over comforting him while Blair rose to make the call. Jonny felt a hand on his forearm and snapped back to the classroom.

"What is it?" Jessie asked.

"Nothing good," he said. "Chris's boyfriend is missing."

"Oh god," Jessie winced. "Is Blair calling Jim?"

"Yep."

"Will they be able to do anything?" Jessie knew plenty about police procedure, and while a kid going missing might not be big news, it ought to engender at least something of a response. But, in her experience, that might end up being too little, too late.

"If they're not," Jonny said blazingly, " _we'll_ do something." _Nobody disappears from this campus on my watch_ , he thought fiercely. Cascade was Jim's territory for sure. But Rainier, where Blair was, where _Hadji_ was, that was Jonny's own territory and he vowed to defend it.

So caught up in their troubles were the pair, neither noticed the gaze fixed on them from across the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi all! Welcome to Arc 3!

Enjoy!

* * *

"Ellison!"

"Sir?" Jim stepped into the office, looking unsurprised at the summons.

"Tell me why exactly I should give you a missing person's case that's already halfway cold?" Simon demanded, scowling at the form that had come across his desk as a transfer from another department – with his lead detective's signature on the bottom.

Jim sighed. "Because I owe it to Blair."

That brought Simon up short. "How do you mean?"

"The last time stuff went bad at Rainier, I looked the other way. Focused on my own murder case, told him it was no big deal. And then the punk put out a hit on him and he could have been beat to death if I hadn't been there." He stopped.

"And?" Simon knew when to press his best detective and friend.

"And a lot of what happened was my fault. Blair's my Guide and, more importantly, my partner, and I ignored him, dismissed his concerns and his valid points all because he was so upset he was losing perspective. But there's two of us for a reason – when he got caught up, it was my job to sort the real deal from the little stuff. And I didn't do it."

"We got the guy," Simon reminded him.

"Yeah, but not until I'd sent Blair the message loud and clear that what happened at Rainier stayed at Rainer, that it wasn't important enough for my time. Well," he met Simon's eyes, "not anymore. And it's not just about Blair now. The Quests are there. Daryl's there. _Anything_ that happens at Rainier is my concern from now on."

Simon sat back considering. Finally, he was forced to agree that, while it went against policy to put such a routine case into the Major Crimes pool, this one mattered to them both on a lot of levels that didn't give a bent pin for policy. Besides, if somebody was hurting anthropology TAs, that could come home to Hadji's roommate or Blair himself, and Simon didn't want either Sentinel to have the chance to say 'I told you so.'

"All right, Jim, as long as your other cases don't suffer."

"Don't worry," Jim smiled. "I've already got some eyes on the ground."

"I bet you do," Simon muttered as Jim strode out.

Jim spent the next hour or so running down leads over the phone on some of his open cases so by the time Sandburg came in for the afternoon, he was ready to talk about the missing Mark Peterson.

"What've we got?" Blair asked, settling at his desk and hoping for some kind of answer.

"Not a lot right now," Jim admitted. "His mom called down to Missing Persons this morning, and I had the case transferred up here, and there's not a lot to go on." He held open the thin folder for Sandburg to skim.

"Last seen…blank. Wearing…blank. Possible reason for disappearance…blank. Jim, they didn't even look into it!" Blair accused.

"First of all," Jim felt the need to defend his fellow officers, "they only had the case for about three hours before you called me and I appropriated it. Secondly, a student who doesn't come home over break isn't a critical missing. For all they know, he went down to Mexico to party and hasn't stopped. Or he's dropping out of school and doesn't have the guts to tell his mom or his friends. It happens all the time."

"I know," Blair grumbled. "But…it's different with Mark."

"I believe you," Jim made sure to say the words sincerely. "So why don't you tell me what you know and we'll go from there?"

"Thanks, man. That means a lot," he said with some relief. Then he leaned back. "Okay, so Mark Peterson. He's a TA in the department this year under Doc Gadhavi. Shanta says he's one of her best, and she thought he'd get his Master's in under a year. He'd already had his thesis approved – studying modern classism and its roots in ancient caste structures. I asked Shanta about him on my way here, and she hasn't heard from him, either. She's his advisor, so if he was dropping out, she'd have to know about it."

"Okay," Jim nodded. "What else?"

"Well, Chris said he talked to Mark sometime in the middle of finals week last semester and wished him a Merry Christmas and all that. Mark seemed happy to go home and he was really looking forward to this term. Chris says Mark said everything seemed like it was falling into place for him – he was going to be a TA, he was getting deep into his research, and…well, he was dating the guy of his dreams." Blair remembered how nervously Chris had related that last, at once afraid and proud.

"All right, Chief. This is your world. What do _you_ think?" Jim wanted to know.

"Are you asking for my opinion or for what we should do next?"

"Both."

"Oh." Blair was momentarily surprised; he vividly recalled getting the brush-off only some months before. But it was different now. _They_ were different now. Blair liked different. "I had Mark in a few classes in the last couple of years. He's smart but shy, driven but also really closed-down socially, you know? Not a partier, not a ton of friends, not really involved except in his studies. Asking Chris out was probably a _huge_ deal to him. And I know having Doc Gadhavi as an advisor was a real coup for him, too. Unless he woke up one day and wanted to go be a sailor or a card shark or something, he was on his way to getting his own holy grail. No _way_ would the quiet guy in my class give all that up. Not willingly."

"Good enough for me," Jim said, and it was. "So where do we start?"

"Eliminate the obvious," Blair said immediately. "Check with the Registrar and see if he's on the roll for the term and if he's paid up. If he did drop out, I still want to find him, but at least we'd know it was planned."

"And if he didn't?"

"Then," Blair sighed, "then he's really missing. And if he's missing, I guess we have to assume…"

Jim reached over and grabbed his Guide's shoulder. "If he's alive somewhere, I'll find him, Chief. I promise you."

Looking at Blair's sudden hope and blinding trust, Jim wondered how such a promise had ever been hard for him before. His Guide was also his best friend, partner, and the other half of his soul, bound in a profound, endless way that still gave him awe to think about. He would do anything for Blair. Maybe he had always _thought_ he'd go to hell for the kid, but now he knew his old self would have gone fighting and resisting and ignoring if the path wasn't exactly comfortable.

Now he'd run straight into hell without a second thought and it didn't matter why or how. Because Blair would do the same for him.

"Ahem."

Jim was startled to look up to see Joel watching him stare, probably dopily, at his partner. He coughed and growled more harshly than the situation really warranted, "Need something, Taggart?"

"I heard from a friend that you picked up a missing person's case?" he asked with an easy shrug. "Something about Rainier? It's not one of those kids, is it?" he frowned.

"The friend of a roommate," Blair answered, "and a TA in my department."

"Oh," Joel nodded in understanding. Then, with a glance around, he leaned down. When he spoke, it was soft and quick. "If you need help, you only have to ask. I won't even hit you with my questions. I hope you know that. You don't have to explain anything. Just let me help."

"Joel…" Blair started. But he wasn't completely sure what to say. He glanced to Jim.

Joel smirked at their indecision. "I'm here for you. Both of you." He straightened back up. "You know where to find me."

Jim and Blair exchanged looks. They were thinking the exact same thing – Joel had had suspicions for months, long before he'd actually seen the freaky spirit-animals-on-parade thing up near the lodge back in September. Since that day, he'd moved around the bullpen carefully, as though wading through the secrets that he could sense but not share. He'd never asked, never badgered them, and even stood up for them when others came with questions of their own.

 _It's time. Past time, really_ , Jim decided. He looked up at where Joel was retreating. "What are you doing for dinner tonight?" he called.

Joel turned quickly. "Nothing. Just me and a date with network television."

Blair caught the look on his partner's face and grinned. "Well, tell the TV she's gonna have to wait."

-==OOO==-

Daryl was not having a good day. First of all, it was a Monday, so automatic bad news. Secondly, he was absolutely _hating_ his introductory computer classes. Professor _Monotone_ was almost impossible to listen to, and he had a nasty habit of catching students just when their attention had truly wandered and calling them out in front of the class. Currently, Daryl seemed to be his favorite target.

Daryl unlocked his door and entered, looking around for Marc. Seeing he was alone in the room, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He had just finished hanging up his coat and pulling out a few books when the room's phone rang. "Daryl and Marc's room," he answered politely.

"Hi son," came his father's voice.

"Hey dad."

"How was class today?"

"Fine."

"Daryl." Oh, there was that warning tone that proved why having a police captain made it hard for a kid to get away with anything.

Daryl huffed. "Comp sci is a bore hole, dad. A bore _hole_."

"I'm not sure I want to hear you talking like that," his father admonished, but Daryl could also hear him fighting a smile.

"Then don't ask me about class," he answered flippantly.

"Nice try."

"So what's up?" Daryl tried to redirect the conversation.

"Do you mind if we have dinner tomorrow or in a couple of days? Something's come up."

Daryl wasn't particularly surprised. He appreciated that his father wanted to spend so much time with him, but the time of Captain Simon Banks of Major Crimes was limited, and sometimes duty came first. It was a lesson Daryl had struggled to understand as a kid, but now, more set than ever on going into the force himself, he was beginning to see differently. "No, that's fine. Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just…you know how I feel about those meetings with the Mayor and the City Council?"

"Yeah?"

"That would be easy compared to this."

Daryl laughed. "Well, good luck with it, dad!"

"Thanks. Oh, and don't be surprised if you see Jim on campus in the next few days. He and Sandburg have a case."

"Blair left in the middle of a lecture today. Was it about that?"

"Yeah. Nothing for you to worry about. Just remember not to bother them when they look busy."

"Jim _always_ looks busy, dad, even when he's having fun."

His father chuckled. "Got me there, son. I'll call you later and we'll set up a time, okay?"

"Sure thing. Be safe, dad."

"You too, son."

As Daryl ended the call, he wondered what he should do for dinner. The dining hall was always an option, and not all its food choices were impossible as long as you stayed away from anything with the term "surprise" in the name. But there was nothing more pathetic than eating all alone in a dining hall that sat thousands of students. And right now Daryl didn't feel up to navigating the strangely cliquish interactions of his floormates who treated him as an outsider for being a term late to join their ranks.

His computer pinged. Daryl opened the laptop, still so grateful to have this one instead of the old clunky thing his mom had bought him ages ago. If this was the tech he'd receive, Daryl would take his dad's hand-me-down leftovers any time. He'd seen the sleek laptop that his father used now, and if he wasn't mistaken, it had a stylized "Q" hidden in one corner. Maybe his dad would get rid of it someday, too, and Daryl could have his own Quest-tech.

Appropriately enough, the pinging was an instant message from Jonny. _Want to do dinner with us_?

Daryl grinned and began typing back. _I'm in! Where and when_?

Jonny's response was swift. _We'll swing by and pick you up on our way. 5 mins. JQO_

Daryl wondered if he should respond in the same way with "DBO" but opted not to. He'd started getting used to the weird shorthand Jonny used when he was actually typing and not foisting it off on someone else. "JQO" meant "Jonny Quest Out" or, as Hadji had explained it a week prior, "Jonny Quest sincerely appreciates having spoken with you but has completed all he wished to communicate, so he bids you farewell and thanks you for your time and attention."

Daryl was really starting to like those guys.

The door opened and he fought not to frown. _Speaking of guys I actually like_ …

"Hey roomie," Marc breezed in, dumping a dripping coat on the floor in the middle of the room. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Daryl answered neutrally.

"You gonna be around later tonight?"

"Are you?" Daryl returned.

Marc smiled sharply. "Oh yes."

"Then I guess not." Two weeks into university life and he'd already learned to clear out when his roommate had that predatory expression.

"Good answer," Marc said. He had kicked off his boots and stripped bare to the waist, revealing the permanent tan in his Mediterranean coloring and a well-defined chest. "By the way, I tried to use your computer today and it freaked out on me."

"What?" Daryl looked up with a frown.

"I turned it on, but it wanted a password or something."

"Oh." Daryl was torn between smiling and scowling. _That was exactly why I password-locked it, you know._ But his annoyance crawled up his spine and he looked up at his roommate firmly. "We agreed that you wouldn't mess with anything on my side of the room."

"I wasn't messing with anything. I just wanted to check my email without going out in the rain. Geez, why is that such a big deal?"

 _Because it is_ , Daryl wanted to say. _Because I saw what you did to your computer the third day you had it_. Instead, he decided not to pick a fight. "Sorry," he said noncommittally.

Marc was winding up to fire back when there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" he shouted.

The door opened revealing Jessie Bannon. "Hey Daryl! Everybody's reading the notice-board down in the entryway – I think they didn't want to walk up all the stairs. You ready?"

"Definitely," Daryl said gratefully.

He turned away to grab his still-wet coat but spun back at hearing, " _Well_ , good evening to you."

"Hi," Jessie said warily to Marc. "Sorry – I was just coming by to grab Daryl for dinner. I didn't mean to, um, interrupt," she gestured at his half-clad state.

"Oh, no," Marc said smoothly, sliding a step closer to where she stood in the doorway. "Nothing to worry about. Are you one of Daryl's friends? I'm Marc _D'Amore_ , his roommate." He spoke his last name in a low, resonant drawl.

"Nice to meet you," Jessie returned without any particular inflection. "I'm Jessie Bannon."

Marc held out a hand to shake and Jessie clearly felt obligated to take it. As she began to pull a glove off, Marc interrupted her, his long fingers swiftly intercepting her and easing the glove off himself while looking into her face. "Allow me."

Daryl finally managed to get his coat on and made it to the door in time for Jessie's face, still pink from the cold, to turn icy as the weather. "No thank you," she said sharply, pulling her hands and her glove from him.

"Please don't be offended, Jessie," Marc said, leaning forward and brushing a strand of her wet red hair from her face to tuck it behind her ear, his fingers lingering in a caress.

Jessie backed up and met his blue eyes with her blazing ones. "Do _not_ touch me. I did not invite you to and if you try it again, you'll be sorry."

Marc looked crestfallen. "I am already sorry, Jessie, if I have upset you. I never intended it."

"I'm sure," she said. Then, looking past him, "Daryl? Still coming?"

"You bet." He had to trot to catch up to where Jessie was storming off down the hall towards the stairwell. Daryl didn't have time to look back at what his roommate might think of the situation, but he had his own opinion. The second the stairwell door was shut behind them, he asked, "Are you mad?"

"Yeah I'm mad!" she stopped in her rush and turned to face him. Her expression softened. "But not at you. You've got a real piece of work for a friend, Daryl."

"Marc is _not_ my friend. And _you_ are. Are you okay?"

"Okay?" she repeated the word.

"He was…way out of line. And I know he does that stuff to other girls, too. I think some of them like it." Daryl was trying to figure out exactly how to orient himself in this situation. "He doesn't…He…I would never…" he floundered.

Jessie smiled suddenly. "Don't worry. You're fine. I know you aren't like that. But I hope you don't mind that I'm not going to start making puppy eyes at your roommate. Or any other eyes, for that matter."

"Oh, that's cool with me," Daryl rushed to assure her. "I'd avoid him, too, if I could."

But he paused for a moment too long, thinking. Jessie crossed her arms. "What is it?"

"I…um…should I have…you know, done something?" he asked uncertainly.

"Like what?"

"Um, I dunno. Stopped him or decked him or something?" At Jessie's confusion, Daryl tried to explain. "I was thinking about something Blair used to tell me about consent and patriarchal culture and stuff and…I guess I don't know if I messed up."

"Oh." Jessie considered her answer carefully. "It's true that what he did – that intimate touching thing – is considered romantic by lots of people, and not just women. And if it was consensual, that would be fine. It wasn't, but it isn't something I can't handle. I appreciate what you're saying, that you would do something to protect me. But that? I can take care of that myself. I can probably take care of a lot more," she smiled a little darkly.

"So…how am I supposed to know if I should be stepping in or if that would just imply I think a girl is too weak to take care of herself?"

"I don't know. We should ask Blair sometime, see if he's got ideas. But, I guess, if there's time – ask. And if there's not time to ask, then probably you should do something." Jessie's smile became more genuine. "I promise, if I get in over my head and need your help, I'll let you know."

"Good," Daryl finally smiled back. "I'm glad. I'd want to, you know. Uh. Help, I guess. If you needed me. _It_. Needed help." He coughed. "So, who's coming to dinner?"

"You, me, Jonny, Eric, and Lai will be along as soon as her study group ends. Hadji's staying in tonight, but we can go by his room later to see what's up if you'd like?"

"Sure. Sounds good."

Jessie nodded and began to head down the stairs, Daryl just a step behind and wondering why his brain had cut out so violently just now, and why his heart felt like it didn't quite fit right.

-==OOO==-

It had been decided that the best way to do this was just the four of them at the loft. As the Sentinel looked around the large space of the downstairs, he felt a twinge of nervousness in spite of the fact that every man around him was a friend and, more importantly, someone he trusted. It was only Joel who would be new to things; they'd invited Simon to help tell the whole story. But it still felt enormous. Jim compensated for the feeling by meticulously setting the table while Blair whipped up a big stir fry and Simon sliced a loaf of thick, fresh bread from a nearby bakery.

"Okay, now I'm worried," Joel said from where he leaned against the counter nursing a beer. "You're all trying to butter me up for something here."

There was an uncomfortable pause before Blair said easily, "Well, if you want to be helpful, grab the salad then and see if Jim left a spot marked out for it on his insane grid-pattern of table neatness."

Joel chuckled and maneuvered around Blair and Simon to find the salad in the fridge, scooping up the table salt and pepper on his way back and eyeing the table. Then, knowingly, he plunked the stuff down right in the middle. "This okay?" he asked Jim.

Jim huffed a laugh. "No. It needs to be an inch to the right."

Simon snorted. "That sounds more like the old Jim."

"Old Jim?" he asked.

"Sure," Joel nodded, intercepting where Blair was precariously hauling the giant pot from the stove and grabbing a hot-pad to put under it on the table. "Old Jim who couldn't let anybody touch his desk or his files without knowing _exactly_ how crucial it was that they be kept in the precise order he'd left."

"Old Jim who once gave me an earful when we changed all the light-bulbs over to be more efficient because they were 'too loud and too bright for a decent man to ignore,'" Simon smirked, bringing over the bread.

"Control Jim," Blair said simply. "Jim who needed to exert total order over his domain." As he pulled out his chair, he nudged his partner. "And we both know why that changed."

"Well, I don't. Unless it's you, Blair," Joel said, taking his seat. "From the first day you showed up, Jim's been better. So if you did all that, I salute you," he lifted his bottle.

"It wasn't me," Blair shook his head.

"Oh yes it was," Jim and Simon disagreed in unison.

"Clearly Jim's controlling nature was fueled by his overall struggle to maintain control in himself, so he reacted by exerting control over his environment," Blair explained. "It's a natural human reaction to respond to events or situations that are disempowering by enforcing power over what is within your own purview. And that's exactly what Jim did to keep sane. But now things are different and he doesn't need to do that anymore, so those habits are slowly falling away and that's what you're seeing when Jim jokes about his previous neuroses."

Joel blinked.

"How about you let me tell it, Sandburg?" Simon said. Blair shrugged and happily stuffed a forkful of food in his mouth.

 _Played right into his hands_ , Jim thought wryly. _Once he starts talking, he knows he won't stop, so he got Simon to tell it by being all convoluted about it. That way he gets to eat before his food gets cold. Score one for the hungry Chief_. Blair glanced up at Jim and grinned at Jim's knowing wink.

"Tell me how I do, Jim," Simon said. Then he faced Joel and took a breath. "This is going to sound unbelievable, but, well, Jim has some enhanced senses."

Joel blinked again. "You mean he can see farther, smell better, stuff like that?"

"Yeah," Simon nodded.

"And that's the big secret?"

"Well, it's a little more complicated than that," Jim put in.

"Good," Joel said solidly, "because I already knew that."

"You did?" Simon's eyebrows went up.

Joel actually narrowed his eyes at him. "I've been in this game longer than you, Simon. I'd like to think I'm a pretty fair detective in my own right. And if you think a detective can work in the same department as Jim for more than a couple of months and _not_ notice how he beats most of the forensic guys at their own game, well, you've got another think coming."

Jim was not totally surprised to hear this, nor was Simon. Simon knew well Joel was sharper than most, and he'd been the one to start asking about what book or course Jim had taken to make him so much keener at observation. But it was Blair who almost spit out a mouthful of bread.

"You knew all this time?" he demanded.

"No, not all this time. But before your press conference, yeah, I had a good idea something was up. That just finished it off for me." Joel leaned forward. "So why don't you tell me all about Sentinels, Blair?"

The invitation was so open, so sincere, Blair totally forgot anything else as he launched directly into lecture mode. Jim and Simon took the opportunity to eat while Blair went on for ten minutes without stopping on the truth and nature of Sentinels – with some new bits about Guides added from the last time he'd given this spiel. Just when it seemed he would run out of steam, he dove straight into Doctor Benton Quest's Sensory Evaluation and Learning Foundation for another round.

At the end, twenty minutes without pausing for more than a few breaths (a surprising few), he glanced around, as if forgetting Simon and Jim had even been there. "Um, did I miss anything?"

"You covered it fine," Joel assured him. "It's a lot to take in."

"Well, if you want more, I could lend you my dissertation," Blair offered. "It's technically classified by the government but I have the intellectual property rights and can pass it to anyone I want. Of course," he looked guiltily at Jim, "we were supposed to get clearance before we told Joel in the first place."

"Taken care of," Simon said. "I called Agent Fritz this afternoon."

"Oh, that's good," Blair relaxed.

"So," Joel looked at the other three, "why did you decide to tell me now? Why not before?"

"The why-not-before part is complicated," Jim said, and he made it clear that was all the answer he intended to give. "It wasn't that we don't trust you. We wouldn't have told you at all if we didn't."

Joel nodded.

"As for now, well…"

"Remember what we saw last fall?" Simon rescued him. "Out on the mountain?"

"That was a Sentinel thing?" Joel's eyes widened.

"Jonny and Hadji did it," Blair affirmed. "Jim and I've never tried it. We didn't know it could be done, but they learned it from Ngama."

"You backed me up that day without asking questions," Simon continued. "We knew we wanted to bring you in then. But after that we, well, you know. Got kind of busy."

"You mean _besides_ the arson cleanup, the string of robbery-homicides, that drug ring thing, and the gang turf war? Not to mention the holidays and all the usual Cascadian stuff," Joel smiled. "Yeah, we've been busy all right."

"It's not just that," Jim spoke up suddenly. He met Joel's eyes seriously. "When it was just me and Sandburg, it was one thing. Now Jonny and Hadji are here, and soon we'll have a bunch more. We can't be every place at once. We need people we can trust to back us up if things go wrong."

Joel watched Jim's expression and everything Blair had said about ancient tribal warriors and instincts and territorial imperatives began to make sense. He could almost perceive the drive in his friend to guard what was his, to serve it, to watch over it. And he understood suddenly what an awesome trust and responsibility had just been laid in his lap. Jim wasn't telling Joel about himself; Jim was inviting Joel into his tribe.

Joel nodded to everything Jim did and didn't say. "I understand. Count me in."


	3. Chapter 3

You readers are really amazing. It's so fun to share this story with you a bit at a time!

Even when those bits are...well, you'll see. Don't worry! It'll totally get worse!

Isn't that exciting?

Enjoy!

* * *

Hadji was not surprised to find both his roommates in residence when he returned to the dorm. As graduate students, they had a much heavier academic load with less time for socialization so they were almost always in the rooms studying intently. It was one of the reasons the pair of upperclassmen had been reluctant to open up the third room in their suite to an inbound, unknown freshman. However, Hadji's quiet, unobtrusive ways and his studious nature fit well with the slightly high-strung Chris and the detached Otto.

"Good evening," Hadji greeted them politely. Both looked up from their desks, Otto giving only a brief nod while Chris tried and failed to manage a smile.

Hadji crossed the small floor to his own alcove. The room was shaped strangely, though the footprint of the entire suite came out in a rectangle with three narrow bedrooms that opened into a central area and a connected bathroom. The bedrooms themselves were almost too small to hold anything but a single bed and a chest of drawers, and even that made it impossible to open the tiny closet if a drawer was open. So all three desks were out in the common room, tucked into whatever corner was closest to that person's room. Hadji had visited a neighboring suite with only two students where they had turned the third bedroom into a study room and their common space was more like a comfortable lounge. Another trio down the hall had reversed everything, pulling their beds into the central room and making each bedroom an individual space to study or watch movies or play video games without disturbing the other two. The small and private nature of his bedroom suited Hadji just fine, however, as the floor gave him enough space to meditate and that, besides sleep, was all he required of it.

In the main room, Hadji's desk was pushed into a spot between his door and the bathroom and he had set up a small, colorful floor screen that sheltered his area. It was virtually the only decoration in the common room besides what each young man kept on their desks; they had hung no posters nor pictures. But Otto's bedroom walls were covered, floor to ceiling, with maps from World War I, diagrams of battlefields, troop movements, political boundaries, and trench formations. Chris's room displayed a jumbled collage of pictures and posters and even some artifacts from his anthropological career. Hadji's own room was sparse by comparison, but he had pinned up a beautiful blanket from Calcutta and tucked into the woven threads and small winking stones and mirrors many small pictures and notes from his family. All three students were circumspect by nature, keeping what was out in public quite sterile and impersonal, and holding their secrets for themselves.

But even with so little information in the common area, Hadji could see that something was amiss. For Chris's desk, usually a mess but clearly vibrant and in use, was oddly piled. It took Hadji a moment to realize that Chris must have swept the desktop clean, flinging his things to the ground, before later piling them together in one heap that he dumped on the far end.

Hadji set down his bag and put his coat away before he walked over to his troubled roommate. "My friend, is there nothing I can do to help you?"

"I don't see how," Chris answered, bending over a book but not really seeing it. "You can't find Mark. You can't tell me what happened to him."

"Give the police more time," Otto spoke up unexpectedly, looking over his thin wire glasses frames and running a hair through his bushy red-brown hair. "It's only been two weeks."

"He's been missing for two months!" Chris said angrily. "They've been _looking_ for two weeks, but he's been gone a lot longer than that!"

Otto looked steadily at Chris but did not argue. The two had been friends for a long time. Otto knew when to let Chris's emotions go unfettered and when to respond with logic. Chris's anger faded almost at once under that patient gaze.

"Sorry," Chris huffed after a long breath. "I don't mean to bite your head off."

"If it soothes your pain, I believe we would both sacrifice our metaphorical heads to your fangs," Hadji said gently. That won him a small laugh.

"What are you going to do?" Otto asked.

"Do?" Chris frowned in confusion at him.

Otto gestured to the desk. "You're clearly tired of not doing anything. You're dissatisfied with the progress the police have made. And you're going to crack if you don't do something."

"It sucks," Chris hung his head. "If he were lost while we were on an expedition, there'd be a way to find him. I could look for tracks, get the best hunters to show me how to read the ground and the leaves and follow his footsteps. If I were desperate enough, I'd ask the priest or elder or shaman to do a spirit walk to find him. But here…there's just nothing."

Hadji kept his own council. He wished he could tell his roommate about the superb trackers who had already scoured Rainier's campus with their Sentinel senses. But two winter months had meant inches of rain and slush and snow, and so Jonny and Jim, even at their best, could not follow a trail that cold and washed away. It was miraculous enough that they had discerned that no one but Mark himself had been in his dorm room. It had been left as though he had run out for only a moment, the computer powered on and even a half glass of water on the desk. There were no scents of anyone else in the room, and they had concluded he had sent the mysterious email about staying on campus for break to his mother before running out…and never returning. It was what happened next that had confounded the best detectives and the two Sentinels in Cascade.

But then something Chris had said struck him. "You spoke of a spirit walk. Would you trust the results of such an investigation?"

Chris looked up. "Uh, yeah? I mean, I've been out there with some peoples and seen some crazy stuff, you know? Stuff I can't explain. So sure. I'd give it a shot."

"If you would like, I could attempt to enter the astral plane myself to see what I may learn," Hadji offered.

Otto gave a delicate sniff – the only indication of his extreme skepticism. It had been a debate for the ages between him and Hadji in the first week they'd roomed together, both so entrenched in their positions they had little room to maneuver. Neither was offended at the other's beliefs, of course, but it was a subject best left alone in the suite.

Chris swallowed. "Sure, Hadji. I'll go with anything at this point. Try whatever you want."

"Until then," Hadji said kindly, "perhaps you should rest. Your own subconscious may wish to communicate with you, and it cannot if you never sleep."

"Go on," Otto said, turning back to his notes. "I'll wake you in a few hours."

Chris allowed Hadji to pull him up and give his arm a squeeze before he half-stumbled into his room and shut the door.

"Hey."

Hadji turned to where Otto's nonchalance had melted completely as he looked up angrily. "Yes?"

"Don't tell him anything you see in your dreams, Hadji. Don't give him false hope from some kind of mystical vision or something. He's in enough pain. You shouldn't add something from a tabloid horoscope to it all."

"I respect that our opinions differ," Hadji said stiffly, "but believe me, I will give him no false hope. I wish to bring him _real_ hope. But," he conceded, "if I am not certain of what I find, I will not taunt him with vagueness."

Otto scowled and shrugged and Hadji opted to move to his room rather than continue the discussion. Once there, he closed his door and opened the blinds. His small window faced the setting sun in the west, though there was more in the way of clouds than the last rays of evening sunlight in the sky now. He took his time about stretching himself, even doing a few moves of Tai Chi that were possible in the narrow space, to center his energies. When he at last settled on his mat, folding his legs under him, his mind and heart were empty and open.

Just as he slid into meditation, Hadji heard the cry of a fox.

At once, the amorphous astral plane resolved itself into the strange indigo savannah where Hadji had forged his bond with his Sentinel. As his bare feet touched the thick, soft grasses, he sensed more than saw something coming.

"Jonny?" he called softly.

From the dense underbrush broke several forms at once. Hadji struggled to make out the various creatures before him, but he was certain one was Jonny's spirit fox. The fox gave a sudden, pained cry.

"Jonny!" Hadji tried to move towards his Sentinel, but abruptly the savannah began to thicken around him, growing into a proper jungle. As grasses became towering trees, the very forest pulled Jonny from what Hadji could perceive. Hadji could have resisted it, his command of this spirit plane quite equal to the task, but he felt there was purpose in the rise of the jungle and he simply waited to see what it might bring. As the landscape settled, he heard something behind him. Hadji turned slowly to find a large wolf.

Hadji stared for only a moment before he understood. "Blair? Doctor Blair Sandburg?"

The wolf began to stretch and distort, rising up until it stood on two paws that became feet. And then it was Blair standing there, wearing his usual jeans with a woven shirt Hadji knew he had received as a gift from one of the many friends he had made while studying native people. He shook his head slightly, as if waking from a dream.

"Hadji?"

"Are you merely a mirage, or are you truly my friend?" Hadji asked.

"Well, I could ask you the same thing! I suppose we could tell each other something only the real us would know, but if this is a vision, would the vision know?" Blair asked. "Tell you what – when I wake up, I'll call you. Then we'll be sure."

"Agreed," Hadji nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh. I was meditating. I thought maybe I might be able to find something about Mark in the human unconscious." Blair smiled. "I take it you came here for the same reason?"

"Indeed. And perhaps as two trackers we shall have greater success. How did you intend to find him?"

"I've got a copy of Mark's latest thesis draft in my hands back at the loft," Blair answered. "I'm hoping he put enough of himself into it that I can use it to, you know, trace what I'm looking for. Like giving a scent to a bloodhound. Maybe as a wolf I can find him."

"Not all people manifest this way in the astral," Hadji warned. "You cannot assume he will take the form of a creature you can readily identify."

"Well, if you're so smart, what would you do?" Blair asked with a little annoyance. "I'm still making this stuff up as I go."

"The astral is a world of mind and will," Hadji said. "It takes whatever form it requires, bounded only by your own intent. Though it does not always obey," he glanced over his shoulder at where Jonny's fox had vanished.

"So what's the plan?" Blair asked.

"You have the stronger connection to Mark of the two of us," Hadji said. "I believe I may possess the spiritual strength to make your will manifest if you can allow me to join my powers with your own."

Blair smiled a little uncertainly. "Are we going to be creating some giant wolf-eagle hybrid in downtown Cascade?"

"I do not believe so," Hadji answered drolly.

"Good, because I am _so_ not up for explaining that to Jim. Let's do it!"

-==OOO==-

Blair blinked his eyes and found himself virtually nose-to-nose with Jim. "Gah!" He threw himself backwards in surprise and bounced off the couch.

"Chief! You all right?"

"Yeah, yeah, fine," Blair rubbed his face. "No need for the microscopic inspection of my nose-hairs, thanks."

"Sandburg," Jim grumbled, "I couldn't wake you up." He was scowling deeply. "It was like you were…gone. Like zoning, I guess."

"Sorry," Blair rushed to comfort his clearly distressed Sentinel. He put a hand out and gripped Jim's shoulder. "Seriously, I'm okay. I…oh! Hadji!"

Blair abruptly jumped up and grabbed for his phone sitting on the kitchen table, leaving an increasingly concerned and confused Jim to growl as he followed. Blair hit the speed dial.

"Hadji? Yeah! It was real! Man, that is unbelievable!" Blair cheered. Then he suddenly sobered. "Yeah. I'll tell Jim. Better hold off on your end, okay? We'll talk later." And he ended the call.

"Tell Jim what?" Jim asked. "What is going on here, Sandburg?"

"So, I was meditating, right?" Blair began to gesture as his excitement grew. "And somehow Hadji and I found each other. We could actually talk, like, in our minds! It was awesome! I wonder if you and I could do that. Like, if you went all jaguar and I was there, I wonder if we could communicate."

"And that's why you were so far gone?" Jim asked.

"Gone? Oh, yeah! We went pretty deep. We were looking for Mark." Blair sighed and most of his exuberance melted away. "He's dead, Jim. We're sure of it. We don't know where or how or when or why, but he's dead."

"How can you possibly know that?" Even for a patient Sentinel, that was a bit much.

"I can't really explain it. If you come in there with us, I'll show you," Blair answered. "It's like…you know how if you call a number on the phone, you can prove whether or not it actually connects to something? Even a busy signal or an answering machine tells you the phone number comes out on somebody's phone. But if you call a number that isn't connected, you get that error message. We…well, we sort of called Mark's number and got an error message. He's dead and beyond this world."

Even a year ago, Jim would have argued. He would have resisted the idea and fought it with all the logic and stubbornness he could throw at it. And that all in spite of seeing ghosts himself and bringing Blair back from the dead. But in that same way he knew he and Blair were bound for eternity, knew they were a part of a greater whole that went beyond his understanding, he knew Blair was telling the truth. Not just that he _thought_ he was telling the truth. That he was literally, factually correct about this.

"Okay," Jim said. "Okay. I believe you."

And with that same profound connection, Blair could tell that Jim really did. "So, what do we do?"

"Well, it's still our case. But if he's dead, it's going to be harder. At least," Jim shook his head, "at least we don't have to worry that us not finding him means he's in trouble right now, or suffering somewhere." He looked up with an old pain. "All we can do now is find what's left of him and bring it home for his family and friends."

Blair thought of Jim and Peru and the helicopter crash and he understood.

"We should tell Simon," Blair said.

"You're right, we should," Jim agreed. Then he smacked his forehead. "That's what I wanted to tell you!"

"Huh?"

"I was trying wake you up, Einstein. Remember?" Jim's sorrowful expression melted to a serious one that masked a lot of uncertainty. "Benton called."

"Yeah? And?"

"The ship of Sentinels will arrive in Cascade tomorrow night."

-==OOO==-

The next week was beyond hectic. Blair even resorted to claiming DHS priority business to get out of his Rainier work without causing too much trouble. With close to 70 Sentinels plus a few family members to settle up at the SELF lodge, he barely slept at all. Agent Fritz had done his magic to ensure the Russian ship showed up on all official papers as something totally nondescript, and there had been a covert caravan of agents and allies like Simon and Joel funneling people up the mountain throughout the night. Then there had been a massive hassle of actually moving into the facility, and Blair got a first-hand look at the strange, sometimes contradictory territorial imperatives of Sentinels.

First of all, nobody wanted to have any non-Sentinels or Guides around at all, but Dmitri and Ivan and Jim and Blair had fought that notion – there was too much risk to dismiss the DHS teams that guarded the perimeter at this point, and Race and Benton weren't going anywhere. There was a loud shouting match, in which Ivanna had proven she could yell just as loudly as any drill sergeant, before they reached a compromise: the DHS would be permitted to remain until the Soviet Sentinels had acclimated to the place, after which they would take over protection and patrol. Race and Benton and other affiliated members of SELF would be permitted, but only if the Sentinel Council approved them. The Council promptly approved Benton, Race, Jessie, Simon, Joel, and Agent Fritz, so that ended things on one front.

Then came the fights about living quarters. The lodge was plenty large enough for all the Sentinels to choose a room with many to spare, not counting the individual little houses and bungalows on the grounds, but they had very firm feelings about how these things worked. Some combination of military rank, age, and the unwritten Sentinel pecking order determined who got to be on which side of the building, or how high up, and who had to share quarters. Of course, Benton had tried to work this out ahead of time through his weekly communications with Dmitri and Ivan, but all their plans evaporated as soon as the Sentinels started declaring that this floor or that wing "felt better" and therefore ranked higher. The crowd fussed and roiled for hours until everyone had at last been assigned a room.

By then it was near dawn Cascade time; the Soviets had spent their trip slowly changing their clocks and daily rhythms to compensate for the time-zone adjustment, but that meant everybody was hungry. But could the Sentinels allow any DHS personnel to cook? _Oh no_. No, they didn't trust outsiders with their food. And the arguments about what to cook, how they would set up a schedule for it, how it was different now than it had been on the ship for reasons unknown – it seemed like it would be even more hours before anybody could eat.

At last Ivan the Terrible had banged a pot with a metal ladle and shouted, "All right you hulking idiots! _I'll_ do the cooking for now, and _I'll_ set up the schedule and name my assistants and you'll like it or you'll eat nothing but gruel until you learn your manners!" That ended that argument, thankfully.

The whole week was like that. Jim and Joel and Simon were there as often as possible, but all three couldn't be absent from the department at the same time on such short notice, so it was mostly Blair and Benton and Race trying to navigate this sticky new world of Sentinels suddenly uprooted from a whole other culture and hierarchical structure. Sometimes Blair thought it was just as well that they were left to it on their own – they were better diplomats in general than Cascade's primary Sentinel, at least – but sometimes the word of that number one Sentinel might have saved hours of negotiation. Twice Blair gave up entirely, called Jim, and let him yell into the speakerphone. Inelegant and crude, perhaps, but it _worked_.

Over the course of the week, in spite of the strife, Blair found that he loved working with these Sentinels. Most of them had been present for Jim's victory over Dmitri, so they recognized him as Jim's Guide and went out of their way to be kind to him. Maybe it was the influence of another Guide besides Ivanna, who was spread pretty thin among them otherwise; as they began to accept Blair into their ranks, they calmed. Benton likened it to a herd that gets spooked and needs time and leadership to become comfortable after the disturbance. Blair loved being part of the force that brought the people back to their ease. But also, frankly, Blair discovered that there was something about Sentinels, even as different as they could be, that he liked. From the taciturn to the loquacious, from the excited to the hopeless, there wasn't a man or woman now in residence that Blair didn't feel somehow connected to. He wondered sometimes if this was how family reunions felt: he didn't know most of the people, and they were from totally different worlds in some ways, but there was a call in the blood that spoke loud and clear "these are my kin." It was a heady sensation, and it made up for a lot of lost sleep.

The Sentinels had arrived after sundown on a Friday, and it was the following Thursday that Blair's phone rang. He was between projects, having just finished giving the last tour of the main gate to the oldest Sentinels who needed the most help before they'd be ready to man it properly, when his phone rang. The caller surprised him.

"Hi Jessie," he said, starting the hike back to the lodge. He glanced at his watch. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Well, I'm not," she snapped. "And I need your help."

Blair's heart sped up. "What's going on?"

"Something's wrong with Jonny. Something big." Blair heard Jessie fight to control her tone, though he wasn't sure if she was trying not to yell or worse.

"What do you mean?" Blair asked, beginning to jog.

"He made Hadji _cry_."

Blair swore and broke into a full run. He'd seen Hadji under duress, worried about his Sentinel, and afraid his father might be killed. But he had never seen Hadji cry. This was serious. "Where are you?" he demanded.

"The SELF house." She paused, then cleared her throat. "Um, I kind of locked Jonny in the safe room."

Blair almost stopped. "You did?"

"Trust me, it was necessary."

Blair heard it in her voice. "I believe you. I'll be there as soon as I can."

He ended the call and broke into a sprint. One benefit of a land full of Sentinels – someone was always listening. "Hey! This is Blair! Somebody find Benton and Race and tell them to get a car ready _right now_!" he bellowed.

By the time he reached the lodge, the two men were assembled with four or five Sentinels as well as Dmitri and Ivan. They looked panicked. "What is it?" Benton shot the question at him.

"I'll explain on the way to the SELF house," Blair gasped, throwing himself into the waiting car. "God, I hope I'm wrong!"

Ivan invited herself into the car beside Blair to his surprise. "I believe I shall be needed," she said. The gathered Sentinels looked ready to commandeer a vehicle of their own but a sharp glance from her had Dmitri holding them back.

Blair nodded gratefully. "Yeah, I think so."

As Race and Benton took the front seats and began to peel out of the driveway, Blair reached up to put a hand on Benton's shoulder. "If it's what I think it is, it's bad but it's not permanent, okay. They'll be all right."

"Is someone hurt?" Race asked tersely.

"Yes and no," Blair answered honestly, typing a message to Jim. "Physically, probably not. Emotionally…that's where it's going to be tricky."

-==OOO==-

Jessie was pacing the front room of the SELF house when the car pulled up. Jim had called ahead to reassure her that he and either Simon or Joel – whoever could get away – would be coming soon, but they were caught up in court at the moment. So it was Benton and Race and Blair and a woman she'd seen on the communication screen but not yet met in person who arrived first. In spite of the urgency of his movements, Benton paused long enough to help Ivanna out of the car.

"Ponchita, you okay?" Race asked, almost slamming the door open and grabbing his daughter by the shoulders.

" _I'm_ fine," she said. "It's the boys…"

"Take us through it, Jessie," Benton said, maintaining a masterful calm.

"Okay," she took a deep breath. "Jonny's been acting weird all week, but we had a bunch of stuff due and a big exam so we all figured it was just stress."

"Acting weird how?" Blair asked.

"Not coming to dinner with us, getting really quiet. Not skipping classes, but sitting really far apart from everybody. And, well…"

"Please," Ivan spoke gently. "Tell us of his treatment of his Guide."

Jessie's eyes got both fierce and watery. "Horrible! I've never seen Jonny be so rude! Like Hadji was personally the embodiment of every little thing that got under his skin. And then today…"

"Where's Hadji now?" Race asked as she trailed off.

"Meditating, or trying to," Jessie said. "He wouldn't move away from the door."

"So what happened?" Blair asked.

"We always eat lunch together before Jonny and I go to Calculus and Hadji goes off to that philosophy seminar he's taking. When Jonny didn't come _again_ , we decided enough was enough and we went looking for him. He was in his room, packing it up. He said he was leaving! So Hadji tried to talk to him, talk some sense into him, you know?"

"And?" Race urged.

Jessie swallowed a thick lump. "When Hadji tried to touch him, Jonny _hit_ him. Knocked him down with a punch! And he said 'Don't touch me, Guide. I don't need you anymore.' He actually said that to him! I think Hadji was more surprised than anything, because he got back up and tried again. And Jonny…he told Hadji to get out of his life." Jessie couldn't stop the tear that escaped. "I thought for sure Hadji's heart would break."

"What happened next?" Blair asked, feeling his own distress and aware of the stricken Race and Benton.

"I…I knew something wasn't right. Jonny would never, _never_ do that to Hadji, not in his right mind. So I told him that he could do whatever he wanted but he had to pick up his passport first, that he couldn't leave it behind. He liked that idea. I told him it was in the SELF house down in the safe room where we lock everything up. Which it is. I didn't have to lie. As soon as he went in there, I slammed the door and hit the emergency lock. Then I called you." Jessie stared at Blair. "What is it? Why is this happening?"

"It is because of his dreamwalker," Ivan said sadly. "I feared this. I had hoped the remote location would give the boy some peace, but apparently his soul is too great for that distance."

"What do you mean?" Jessie asked.

"Come on," Benton said. "Let's go down and sort this out with the boys."

Blair leaned to Race as they moved towards the stairs at the back of the house that led to the basement. "You might have to restrain Jonny."

"Why?"

"He isn't rational right now," Blair explained. "He'll do and say anything it takes, even if I don't know why." He grimaced. "I just know that he will."

"To do what?" Benton asked. "Where will he try to go?"

"To the lodge," Ivanna answered softly. "To the mate who calls to him."

Race almost choked on the word. " _Mate!_?"

The basement had originally consisted of a large cement room under part of the house's foundation. With some renovation, it had been converted into a few different areas. Besides a general storage area, there was one room made of reinforced steel that housed a server-bank which connected the house to the Quest network directly. There was a quiet room, not lockable, but built so that a Sentinel in sensory chaos could be isolated from any stimuli by manipulating the controls inside. And there was a safe room, also reinforced, meant to protect whatever was inside it from anything shy of a direct missile strike. The safe room had an internal locking system that any member of SELF could access, but for security it had also been designed to lock from the outside. The inside could override the outside lock in every instance but one – if two of the Quest family initiated an "Omega Override."

It was a particular security measure the family had been forced to develop after too many years of trickery, manipulation, and even a case of brainwashing. "Omega Override" was a command that would immediately remove access from one of the Quests to everything – the computer network, the voice controls, all of it. It took two Quests to initiate, and it was never done lightly. But, for example, when an enemy had hypnotized Race into trying to murder the rest of the family, the ability to turn the Quest security against Race without him being able to stop it had probably saved his life. Normally, if someone tried to lock Jonny in the safe room, he would only need to order the computer to release him. But Jessie had initiated the Omega and Hadji had backed her up. Until both of them ordered it lifted, the Quest system saw Jonny as an enemy.

The fluorescent light illuminated the small hallway that ran between the different rooms and cast a sickly glow over Hadji, who sat with his back to the door at the end. His legs were crossed and his hands were clasped in his lap and, at first glance, nothing might seem amiss. But Hadji's face was contorted in pain and sweat trickled down his forehead, perhaps masking tears on his wet cheeks. His turban sat askew, a single long lock of hair loose from it and falling over his shoulder, and there was the clear evidence of bruising on his jaw.

At the small window in the door above him, the furious, almost feral face of Jonny was flushed red as he pounded on the door and shouted. But the room was totally soundproofed, so his bellows were as mute as Hadji's pain.

"I turned off the speakers," Jessie said softly. "You don't want to know what he was saying."

Benton pushed through the others and flew down the steps. He stopped before the door and stared at his son in the window for a long moment, flinching as Jonny's frenzy was turned in his direction. Then he dropped to one knee and reached for his adopted son.

"Hadji?" he spoke softly. With a father's care, he touched the young man's face, stroking his thumbs over Hadji's cheekbones and wiping away the moisture. He looked into Hadji's brown eyes and his own heart broke. The pain that was there had been absent since the day he had taken Hadji as his son.

"Doctor...Quest," Hadji said softly, shuddering slightly at a vibration from the door where Jonny pounded. His breath hitched. "I..."

"Don't," Benton sharply intercepted him. "Don't you _dare_ apologize. I know you haven't done this to him, Hadji."

Hadji's throat worked against a harsh gulp. "Father...he doesn't want me anymore. Not as a Guide...and not as a brother."

Benton bent his forehead to Hadji's and took a deep breath. "You will always be his brother, Hadji. And you will always be my son. Never doubt that, my boy. _Never_."

"Now, somebody better tell me what the _hell_ is going on here," Race menaced from behind Benton.

"Jonny has a dreamwalker identical to that of one of the Sentinels who has arrived," Ivanna answered with controlled serenity. "I warned you long ago that it was dangerous to bring two Sentinels together with the same dreamwalker creature. And this is the result."

"But why?" Benton asked as he settled his arms around Hadji. "Why does this happen to them? And what is it doing to Hadji?"

"I know not what it means for a Guide," Ivan answered, "and I am sorry for it. It appears to cause much pain."

"Yeah, I'll say," Blair snarled. "And I wasn't even bonded to Jim then."

"What does it do to a Sentinel, then?" Jessie asked. She was pressed against her father, looking anywhere but at the door and Jonny's rage.

"Sentinels with the same dreamwalker are seized by a compulsion to abandon all they hold dear, to struggle against even their territories and their families and those they protect. It begins slowly and grows to near madness. They become possessed of instincts that drive them like wild beasts, unreasoning and rarely coherent. They will find one another and..."

She looked uncomfortable for only a flash of an instant before she raised her chin and looked at where Benton had turned to her.

"If a man and woman Sentinel share the same dreamwalker animal, they will be drawn together to mate, and the child who results is always, always a Sentinel. Those to whom it has happened describe a vision of their dreamwalkers joining in a fiery light, which becomes the dreamwalker of the child Sentinel. It is a way to ensure that our people continue."

"I remember the list you sent me," Blair said a little breathlessly. "The names of the Sentinels and their spirit animals. The only red fox was...uh..."

"His name is Yosyp," Ivanna said. "He is an old captain."

"I don't remember anybody making a fuss like this at the lodge," Race pointed out.

"He's the one who fell down the stairs on the first night!" Blair remembered. "He's been in the infirmary with a broken leg sedated up to his eyeballs." He ran a hand through his hair. "Oh man I totally missed it."

"As did I," Ivan said, putting a heavy arm around his shoulders. "I foolishly believed it was the exhaustion of the trip and not the reach of a dreamwalker from such distance. Your son is remarkable."

"Sons," Benton corrected tersely. He glanced up at the window. "What do we do? We can't leave him like this!"

"We will not," Ivan said sharply. "I have known too many Sentinels who hurt themselves or others in such madness to allow it to happen once more. But I believe it is not Jonny's distress that we should manage first."

In the circle of Benton's arms, Hadji trembled again.

"Leave it to me," Blair said, sudden strength infusing his voice. "You guys handle Jonny."

"What will you do?" Jessie asked.

"I've been where he is," Blair said looking at where Hadji had lifted his face to his fellow Guide. "Right after Jim and I bonded, he still ran to another Sentinel. The one who killed me, even." He looked straight into Hadji's eyes. "I know what it felt like, and I was barely even open to it then. Jim was still rejecting the connection." He huffed a rueful laugh. "Good thing, I guess. If he hadn't shut me out, I might have got the whole thing."

"So how do you make it okay again?" Race wanted to know.

"You don't," Blair shook his head. "You just survive."


	4. Chapter 4

Hi all! Sorry this is so late. I was singing the national anthem at a WNBA game.

So, you may have noticed in the previous chapter – I'm diving into the Sentinel mythology a little bit. I think I'm doing it in a new way. There's more to come as well. No worries!

Enjoy!

* * *

Jim arrived at the SELF house about an hour after the call he'd received. For not the first time, he cursed the slowness of the legal system that kept him, Simon, and Joel all giving testimony on the same day locked in a courtroom when they were clearly needed elsewhere.

"So you don't know what's going on?" Joel asked. Simon had opted to get back to Major Crimes and cover for them while Joel got his feet wet in the world of SELF.

"No, but I will soon."

They strode into the house, Joel finding it eerily silent. But Jim extended his hearing. Two people upstairs – Blair, Jim knew, and the other he guessed was Hadji from the sound of the too-fast breathing. Everyone else was in the basement. And what Jim could hear from there alarmed him at once.

"Go upstairs and help Sandburg," he told Joel. "I'll be downstairs with the rest."

Joel wasted no time, darting up the stairs with the lightness of a man many years younger and lither. "I came as soon as I was called," he said as he opened a door. "What can I do?"

Jim lost Blair's reply as he sped towards the basement. The door to the safe room was open, and Jim was astonished to see Jonny in a full-body hold by Race while Benton, Jessie, and Ivanna surrounded him. Jonny appeared to be exhausted, but he fought the iron grip of Race whose face was red and dripped sweat.

Race looked up from over Jonny's shoulder as the Sentinel entered. "We've got a mess, Ellison."

"Yeah, I can see that," he answered. "What the hell's happening?"

"Ivan says that Jonny's spirit animal is the same as one of the Sentinels who just arrived," Benton said, his voice a little thin, but that was the only indication of his deep distress other than his heart-beat otherwise. "Apparently the proximity causes Sentinels to experience a sort of primal, instinctive mating drive."

Jim stopped short. _Alex Barnes_ , he thought. _Oh my god_. "What does it make them do?" he asked almost fearfully.

"They seek out the other Sentinel as though drawn by gravity," Ivan answered. "But in this case, the other Sentinel is a man, and no amount of copulation can relieve the pressure. Jonny's instincts tell him he must mate with the Sentinel with the fox dreamwalker and produce offspring, and he cannot. He will do himself and others harm until he or the other Sentinel leaves this area if we cannot help him assert control."

"If the other Sentinel was a girl and they, um, mated, though, he'd be okay?" Jim asked, remembering.

"Yes," Ivan looked at him sharply. "He would be protective of her until they consummated their bond and once she became with child, his madness would grow, unable to allow harm to come to her until his heir was born. Only then would the compulsion pass. The child would be a full Sentinel. It is the nature of our people."

 _Protective until they consummated their bond_... Jim remembered Mexico, remembered flashes of a night on a beach, and then totally irrational behavior from that point on. Remembered holding Alex in the Temple while his Guide and best friend sat bound. He felt a hollow pang. _If Blair hadn't interrupted us on the beach...if Alex hadn't died in that sanitarium, she would have...we would have..._

He felt sick.

"It's also hurting Hadji," Jessie said softly, bringing Jim back to the present. "It's..." she trailed off.

Jim extended his hearing upwards and listened with a pounding heart to the young Guide's abject suffering. And Blair comforting him. Blair _commiserating_ with him. Blair saying he _understood_.

 _Oh, god, Blair. I never knew._

"So what do we do to fix this?" Jim asked tersely. He deliberately turned down his hearing to keep from overhearing any more pain from the floors above. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to stop himself from rushing upstairs to his own Guide.

"It is good you are here, Sentinel," Ivan said, standing and facing him fully. "As a senior Sentinel, you may have the power to restore his mind for a time."

"I'll do it," Jim said without hesitating.

"Good," Ivan nodded. "I only know what is done, but cannot do it myself. You must find your way on your own."

"O...kay."

"Sentinel," Ivan's voice went sharp and she moved right into his face, her considerable size making him feel as though she were looming over him though she was a few inches shorter. "Perceive the dreamwalkers. Use yours to force Jonny's into submission."

He winced. This was really more Sandburg's stuff.

As if reading his mind, Jessie spoke. "Should I go get Blair?"

"No!" he said reflexively. Then, "No, he needs to stay with Hadji right now." _And I can't face him yet_. "I can do this."

"Then act quickly," Ivanna commanded. "Jonny will regain his strength shortly, and both their suffering will continue."

"I still hate all this mystical woo-woo stuff," Jim grumbled. Race might have smiled, or maybe it was a trick of the light – Jim wasn't looking carefully.

 _All right_. Jim took a few deep breaths, resisting the urge to hone in on his Guide's voice, his heart-beat, which normally kept him steady through the strangeness of the Sentinel's otherworldly realities. He settled for scent, picking up Blair's smell easily and holding onto it like a lifeline. _I actually need you this time, you pain in the butt jaguar. Where are you_? With a small, wry smile, _Here kitty kitty kitty. Come out and play_!

The jaguar roared and Jim actually felt like covering his ears. He noticed Jonny flinch too, as did Ivanna, but the other three did not react.

The jaguar appeared before him, its eyes pale blue like Jim's own. _Were they blue before_? he wondered idly. Sandburg would remember. But he suddenly knew (or guessed but probably knew) that they were blue now that he was the jaguar and the jaguar was himself. Now that he no longer fought this part of his nature.

In a moment, the jaguar was joined by a tall, stately crane. Both animals regarded one another for a long moment before turning. Couched at Jonny's side was a red fox.

Jim blinked. The red fox looked _terrible_. Its fur was matted, its eyes were crazed. If Jim had seen this creature in the woods, he'd have assumed it was rabid and put it down in an instant.

"Yes," Ivan spoke softly. "That is what this madness does to Sentinels, Jim."

Jim swallowed thickly. He kind of knew that already, thank you very much.

"Well," he waved at the jaguar. "Go on. Get to it. Fix that thing."

The jaguar looked at Jim as if he were the mud on a piece of bone not even worth eating. _Great. Attitude from my spirit animal. That's some kind of new low_. But the jaguar, for all its disdain of his words, turned to the fox. Its growl was low and deep. The fox yipped shrilly in response. Its tail bristled and it looked poised to run right out the door.

"You've caused enough trouble!" Jim found himself yelling at the fox. "Now stop it and start making things right!"

At his shout, the jaguar snarled and pounced.

Jim staggered back, prevented from losing his balance only by the solid strength of Ivanna suddenly beside him. In Race's grip, Jonny's eyes opened wide and he began to thrash.

It was over before Jim could even figure it out, let alone explain it. The fox might have been nimble and clever normally, but he was no match for the jaguar in his current state. The jaguar closed its jaws around the fox at the scruff of its neck as it would one of its own cubs, lifting him from the ground while the fox's feet kicked furiously. The crane moved beside the jaguar and gestured with her beak to where the younger Sentinel struggled against Race.

The jaguar pulled his head back and flung the fox straight into Jonny's chest.

Jonny fell still. His wandering eyes blinked slowly. Awareness began to dawn in them.

"Jonny?" Benton leaned close. "Can you hear me?"

"Dad?" He took an unsteady breath and looked around. "What happened?"

"He's okay!" Jessie cheered.

"At the moment," Ivan said lowly. The others all turned to her. She shook her head delicately. "It will help him for now, but in the end the instinctive drive will return. The only solution is for one of them to leave Cascade as quickly as possible."

"Hadji!" Jonny sat bolt upright, Race releasing his hold. "What happened to him? Why's he crying?" He started to push to his feet.

"Wait," Jim stopped him before he really knew what he was doing. But somehow, on a level that didn't have words, he knew what he was about to say was true – and cruel. "He's not ready to see you yet, Jonny."

"What? Why?"

"Sit down, son," Benton said heavily. "We've got something to talk to you about."

-==OOO==-

Not long after Captain Taggart arrived, Hadji had known that Jonny was himself again. _How_ he had this knowledge wasn't important, but he knew nonetheless. With a rush of terror he could barely explain, Hadji fled consciousness and threw himself into the astral with all the violence his usual meditation lacked.

The savanna was tinted a new violet color now, and Hadji could tell that the tears he had wept in the real world were reflected here as blood. An unseen wind howled, throwing the grasses about wildly. And somewhere in the middle of the ground, a yawing chasm was opening.

"Hadji!"

He looked up from his desperate crouch, his hands gripping his ears with a force that hurt, to see Blair flickering into existence. "Go back!" Hadji yelled.

"No way!" Blair ran across the unstable ground. "Not a chance, man!"

Hadji looked at the strange hole in the ground. In spite of the viciousness of the surroundings, he found enough curiosity to ask, "What is that?"

"It's the total opposite of everything, Hadji," Blair answered, reaching him and dropping to one knee to grip his shoulder tightly. "It's a literal manifestation of all things that steal life and souls and everything that matters. It's like inhumanity itself, and if you drop down there, you're going to be lost in the worst depression and pain of your life. If love and hope builds people up, down there is what happens when something breaks them down."

"You know it," Hadji looked at him.

"I told you," Blair's voice went bitter. "I saw this in myself, even if it was a little more distant. Jim and I bonded and he brought me back, and then within the day he was gone, flown off to Mexico to have a passionate reunion with the Sentinel who killed me. He didn't want me. He didn't want me as a Guide or a friend." Blair looked away.

"Why does it…why does it feel...?"

"From what Ivan said, it probably has to do with the mating thing. Like, if two Sentinels with the same spirit animals mate, the kid they have is a Sentinel every time. So maybe the two Sentinels have to bond in that moment to make the baby's spirit animal or something. I don't know. But," he met Hadji's gaze with pain, "yes, it temporarily breaks your bond. And it feels worse than death."

"And you would know," Hadji said a little wryly.

"Heck, actual death was easy," Blair met him in dark levity. "This…this is like what everybody fears death and Hell are like."

Hadji shivered.

Blair wrapped his arms around the younger Guide. "And it's so much worse for you than me, I know that. Jim was still denying all the spiritual stuff, so I only got a half-dose or something. And I wasn't as adept at this, either, or as open to it. And," he gulped and held on more tightly, "Jim was my best friend, not my brother in the same way. I was _lonely_ before Jim, but he didn't literally give me life like Jonny did for you."

"It's intolerable," Hadji whimpered. "Like the muscle of my heart has been lined with blades and with every contraction they strike in every direction. Like my blood has become acid." He shook his head. "I _cannot_ endure it."

"You _have_ to," Blair said fiercely. "From what Ivan said, this isn't permanent. It'll go away as soon as we put some space between Jonny and the other Sentinel."

"How can something that hurts so badly not be permanent?" Hadji asked.

"Ever been shot?"

"No."

"Well, that's nothing compared to this, but it does hurt and the hurt does heal." Blair pushed at Hadji's shoulders until he lifted his head. "This _will_ heal. You've got to get a handle on it."

There was a sudden howl and both Guides looked up to see Blair's wolf running for them, a limp form in its mouth. It stopped beside them and dropped the tawny eagle with a whine. Blair reached out to pick up the bird, wondering at first if his wolf had hurt it – but no. The wolf wouldn't have done this. The eagle's broken wings, its ripped out feathers, these were the result of Hadji's pain.

The void in the ground rumbled with a reminder that it was there. Blair actually looked over at it and snarled. " _You_ are not an option! Nobody's going down in that void on my watch! So shut up and go away!"

The instant the words were out of his mouth, there was a great crashing noise and the chasm abruptly slammed closed, the wind dying away as well and leaving the maroon-tinted savannah much calmer, if no more comfortable.

"Well done," Hadji said softly. "I told you that you had the will to command in this place."

Blair almost asked Hadji what he should do next, but with a touch of awe, he realized he already knew. It had come to him as most Guide wisdom did – sliding into what he thought he understood and filling it up like a balloon. He cradled the tawny eagle tenderly.

"You're going to be all right. You know better than this, Hadji. Your mental discipline is greater than mine ever will be. But you're young and unsure. It's like how zones are worse on Sentinels when they aren't used to them. Jonny's never rejected you before, not once. So it's bad. But you're going to come out of it. You just have to do your part to heal what you can and let the rest get fixed in time. You can't let this overpower you, or you won't survive the things that really matter."

As he spoke, the eagle in his hands trembled, but it seemed to regain a bit of its lost wholeness. The feathers looked smoother and the bloody breaks in the thin, fine bones began to close.

"I know there's still a void in your soul," Blair said gently. "But try to fill it as best you can for now."

"I…very well," Hadji managed. He finally uncrouched enough to sit on the ground properly. He was not ashamed of his broken state, but he could not let it go on any longer. He _was_ stronger than this. He had survived worse. He had to reclaim as much of his calm as possible. He was still a Guide. And if Blair was to be trusted, he was still _Jonny's_ Guide, no matter how it felt.

Hadji decided to trust Blair. It was either that or sink into the screaming suffering that waited just at the edge of his consciousness like a monster in the closet. And Hadji had fought enough monsters in his life to be willing to try to stand against one more.

"It's not much," Blair said, offering the still-damaged eagle to Hadji.

"It's not nearly sufficient," Hadji agreed. "The state of my soul is…somewhat worrying." He took a deep breath. "But the state of my mind and my heart are my own, and I will hold them for as long as I can."

He pulled the eagle into his chest and willed it to be enough.

-==OOO==-

"Jessie! Jessie, wait up!"

She stopped and turned, giving Daryl time to dodge around the people crossing the muddy mess of the grass and catch up with her.

"Hi Daryl," she said, her smile a little brittle. Maybe nobody else might have noticed, but Daryl did.

Daryl glanced around. It was just about dinner-time, and most students were on the move in the cool March air. Feeling suddenly bold, he put a hand out and touched Jessie's shoulder.

"Can we talk?" he asked.

Jessie was about to refuse, but she met Daryl's eyes and something in them that was so concerned and so welcome, she nodded. "Sure."

Daryl led the way to the nearest place he could think of where they could get some privacy. It was the music hall, whose basement was lined with small rooms for practicing. The building was almost always open, and Daryl had learned that the practice rooms made good places to hang out and study when he couldn't be in his own dorm room. There were a few that didn't have a stick of furniture in them – unlike the ones equipped with pianos for the piano students – and he steered Jessie to the most out-of-the-way of these. As he flipped the sign on the door to "Practicing: Please Do Not Disturb" he was wryly grateful to Marc. The jerk was a _terrible_ roommate, but it meant Daryl knew every quiet spot on campus. Otherwise, he'd never have gotten any homework done.

Jessie took in the room in a glance before she turned back to Daryl. She dropped her backpack on the floor and pulled off her coat. She spread it, outside down, on the floor. "I'm guessing this isn't a quick question or you'd have asked me outside," she said.

"Uh, yeah." Daryl quickly copied her and sat on his own coat, trying to remember why this had been such a good idea.

But then he caught an expression on Jessie's face. It was so fleeting he could have imagined it, but he knew he hadn't. It was a look of loss that she almost always wore in Anthro 101 now, and in the few times he'd seen her in the last two weeks.

"Jessie, what's going on?" Daryl asked before he could come up with a better opening. "What's wrong with everybody?"

"What do you mean by everybody?" she returned, trying to keep her response neutral.

"You want me to make a list?" Daryl asked. "Jonny hasn't smiled once in the last few weeks, and he goes from either looking like he's sick enough to puke his guts out in class or he's only just keeping from throwing a fit. Eric says he hasn't been staying in the dorm room lately and doesn't know why. Blair clearly isn't sleeping, and he's missed a ton of class lately, too. I haven't even seen Hadji. And my dad keeps canceling our plans." _And you look awful_ , he wanted to say. _You look like you need somebody to hold onto you and never let go until you remember how to smile again_.

"Why do you think I'd know anything about your dad?" Jessie asked.

Daryl frowned. "Because you do. You and Jonny and Hadji. And Ngama from last fall, too. There's something going on with all of you and nobody's telling, but I'm not stupid. Something about Blair and Jim and Doctor Quest's weird Foundation and all that news about Blair's dissertation a year ago—"

" _Stop_ ," Jessie said sharply. "Just…stop."

"Why?"

"I don't want you to finish that question," Jessie said after a tense moment. "We want to tell you about it, we really do, but the timing right now is horrible. And if you keep asking, we're going to have to tell you and then we'll have to explain…" she trailed off.

 _Fine_ , he thought. _Don't tell me yet why Benton Quest got involved with something to do with Blair's secret research and what it has to do with Jim. I can wait for that_. Instead he said, "Okay. Don't explain the secret stuff. Just tell me what's wrong with my friends."

"I can't."

"Jessie," Daryl wanted to grab her hands and hold them tight, but he contented himself with gripping one sleeve of his coat and squeezing it, " _please_. You promised me if you needed my help you would ask."

"But you can't fix this," Jessie shook her head. "You can't fix what's going on with them."

"Maybe not," he admitted, "but at least I can be there for _you_."

Her throat suddenly closed by emotion, she nodded. But it took her a few breaths before she could speak without choking. "It's…there's something special between Jonny and Hadji, right?"

"Sure," Daryl nodded, grateful to at last be hearing something, even if it was only a sliver of the truth.

"They're brothers, but they're more than brothers. They're more than best friends. They live and breathe for each other, you know? They…"

"They're soulmates," Daryl said. At Jessie's look of surprise, he shrugged. "What? A guy can't have his brother be his soulmate? I'm not saying they're, like, uh…you know, _romantic_ ," he stumbled.

"'Cause that would be weird," Jessie agreed with the first tiny smile he'd seen from her that wasn't false in days.

"Exactly." When Jessie didn't go on, he cleared his throat. "So what's wrong with them?"

"It's really, _really_ complicated," Jessie said after a visible effort to explain. "But right now, there's something they can't work through and it's sort of killing them both. Jonny's been staying at the SELF house because, uh, Jim and my dad and Doctor Quest have been trying to talk him through it. Hadji's been spending all the time he's not in class holed up with Blair in a spare office somewhere or off campus."

"And they can't, I dunno, go see a therapist to talk about it or something?"

Jessie huffed a laugh. "Actually, I think they sort of tried that early on. But it's…they just have to get through it. It won't last forever."

"Yeah, but while it does last, it's like watching Jonny become a different person. And when he's not, you know, weirdly angry all the time, he clearly misses Hadji." Daryl frowned.

"Spring break is in a couple of weeks," Jessie said. "We just have to get there. By the time the term starts back up again, things will be better."

"What will a month do that the last couple of weeks haven't?" Daryl asked pointedly.

"I can't tell you that," Jessie shook her head. "But…it has to do with something else. Something we need to fix that will make it easier on them both."

"And what's all that got to do with my dad?" Daryl decided to go for broke.

"Jim and Blair are more busy than usual between their cases and Blair teaching and now all this stuff. There's…something else they're supposed to be doing. Blair and Hadji are doing all they can, but your dad has been filling in whenever Jim needs to stay with Jonny."

"Why can't Doctor Quest take care of Jonny?"

"Because he can't," Jessie's voice rose with a note of despair. "I can't tell you why."

"Okay," Daryl backed off. "But…it'll all get better after spring break?"

"That's the plan," Jessie nodded.

"Okay. And will you tell me then?" When she looked up, Daryl gave in to his impulse and touched her hand softly. "I want to help, Jess. I really do."

She looked away but he wrapped a hand around her fingers and drew her attention back. "My mom and dad got divorced when I was younger," he said. "It was like having my life get torn in half. I love both of them. How could they hate each other so much? And I split my time, but it sucked for everybody. They were both so hurt for so long, even though in the end it was unavoidable. Some days I thought it would be easier if they'd taken a saw to me and cut me in half the way mom threatened to do the living room sofa."

Daryl looked into Jessie's green eyes. "If you feel anything like that, I want to help."

Jessie turned her hand in Daryl's and returned his grip. "Okay." She smiled a little shakily at him.

That smile lit up Daryl's chest like fireworks. "So what can I do?"

"Right now?" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Just don't let go."

-==OOO==-

"What the heck are we doing way out here?" Jonny asked, looking around. "Trying some nice new technique to get me not to go all feral Sentinel on you?" This last was said bitterly.

"Well, that's part of it," Jim acknowledged. "Sandburg seems to think the pull of Yosyp on you gets less with more distance, but your dad did some math based on the probabilities of something or other and thinks you won't really be free of the influence until you're counting miles in the hundreds."

"Oh, that's great."

"Don't resort to sarcasm just to avoid the facts," Jim chided him. "I patented that technique already."

Jim monitored the younger Sentinel closely, reading his sudden increase in heart-rate, the sharp intake of breath, the rush of blood as he flushed with anger, but with control practiced mercilessly over the last days, he forced himself to breathe calmly and reply, "Right."

Jim nodded in approval. He remembered how crazy he'd been the days Alex Barnes had been in Cascade, and then again in Mexico up until the end…and he still cringed to consider it. Jonny was twenty years younger, his body and his hormones were betraying him, and he was acutely, painfully aware of what this whole situation was doing to Hadji. His ability to even _try_ to maintain his composure was impressive.

"There's a question we need to ask you," Jim said after a moment. "And we need you thinking as clearly as possible."

"We?"

"The Council."

"But SELF is more than an hour back that way," Jonny pointed out. "I thought Ivanna and Blair and the others were working with Yosyp as fast as possible so he could get shipped home in a few weeks?"

"They'll make time for this. And we've got your dad's tech."

"What's it all about?" Jonny wanted to know.

Jim was tempted not to say anything at all, let Dmitri and Ivan explain their genuinely insane plan on their own. But he felt a tug of instinct and found himself answering, "A choice. You're a legal adult now, and you deserve the right to have a say in things. You're old enough to enlist and join the army, so in my book that means you can sign up for the dangerous stuff if you want."

"You hate this, don't you?" Jonny asked unexpectedly.

"Hate what?"

"All of it." Jonny turned back to the window and when he spoke it was with despair. "Having to babysit me every minute you're not at work in case I go nuts. Having to do that weird spirit animal thing to keep my brains in the front seat. Having to take time away from your cases and SELF."

"I don't hate helping you," Jim shook his head. "I hate that it's necessary, but it is. And for whatever reason, it has to be me and nobody else. I'm not sorry about that." He paused. Then, "I'm sorry it makes it so hard on Benton, though. I know he'd want to be helping you himself."

"Dad always wants to protect us." Jonny sighed. "I wish Hadji would let dad help _him_ , though."

Jim didn't have anything to say to that. Even he didn't know why Hadji refused any sort of support or help from anyone not Blair, and asking either Guide and even Ivan had resulted in a lot of shrugging. As much as this whole situation was killing Jonny and Hadji – _and it was_ – it was also killing Benton and Race to stand by and do nothing but watch. But that had been Hadji's decision, and he was firm that he would let no one take it away from him. In a way, Jim respected that, too.

"Is he…how is he?" Jonny asked. "You saw him the other day."

"He's…coping," Jim decided to say. "But really he's probably not much better than you."

"You're _wrong_ ," Jonny shook his head as anger crept into his voice. "He's _way_ worse than me. I'm mad all the time I'm not out of my head, but I'm not mad at him. I'm not getting that backlash of hurt from our bond that he gets." He took a breath and said almost Sentinel-softly, "I did try to meditate, just once when I was feeling okay. I just barely touched the storm of what he's feeling, and I thought my heart was getting ripped out. He's _way_ worse than me. I don't know why he doesn't just throw in the towel and walk away."

"You do know why," Jim said quietly.

Jonny nodded wordlessly. Yes, he did. Just like he would never, ever have given up on Hadji were their positions were reversed. It was the only bright spot in that soul-killing despair. His Guide was waiting on him, trusting him to bring an end to this, and was willing to endure whatever it took as long as they were okay in the end. _God, Hadj. You're so much braver than me_.

"We're here," Jim announced, bringing the truck to a stop. It was nothing but a little rest stop off the highway, but it was totally deserted and the mile-marker said that Cascade was 100 miles in the opposite direction. "Help me set this stuff up."

Jonny kept his questions to himself while he rigged up the laptop and balanced it on the dashboard, signing onto the SELF communications network. In moments the screen at the other end switched on. At first there was just a close up of his father's chin, then the camera was adjusted and Benton backed out of the frame enough to reveal Race, Dmitri, and Ivan.

"Where's Blair?" Jonny asked automatically.

"Not this time," Jim shook his head. "Trust me."

"I want to go _on record_ ," Benton stressed, "that I think this is a terrible idea."

"Noted," Jim said. "But he's proved he can make the decision for himself."

"Make it a good one, kid," Race grumbled.

"Make what decision?" Jonny asked.

"Young Sentinel," Ivan said, sitting as ramrod straight as always and filling the room with her presence that was palpable even over the laptop, "a situation has arisen. And you may have a part to play in it."

"The short version," Jim said, "is that our new friends just got intel saying there's another group out there. Like the Global Wellmen people who snatched Sandburg and Hadji and your dad. They're abducting Sentinels and potential Sentinels from all over the world. None that are in sensitive positions in their governments, but lots who are retired or deemed unstable or even a few in the West who were in institutions because nobody knew what they were."

"You mean they're kidnapping people who are Sentinels that _aren't_ part of the whole government programs?" Jonny asked.

"Yes," Benton nodded. "They appear to be a few steps ahead of us in finding Sentinels not already identified by any existing process. We had intended to go and do the same, but without the kidnapping."

"And what's happening to them?" Jonny asked.

"Our intelligence," Dmitri spoke up, "suggests they are being held in a retraining and possibly a breeding facility."

"So it's…like what we were afraid of," Jonny's eyes widened.

"Yes," Jim nodded. "They're being exploited, possibly mated against their will, and used by some non-governmental organization."

"And the problem," Race said, "is that nobody can do anything about them without potentially starting a war because of where they're set up." Jonny opened his mouth to ask but Race beat him to it. "They're above the Arctic Circle, in the part of the North Pole that's already deeply in contention over oil exploration rights."

"So if Russia goes charging in there, China won't like it, even if they know why," Jonny nodded. "And if it's Canadian territory, they can't even tell the Canadians what they're really doing."

"It could start a war or force one government to reveal the existence of Sentinels," Benton affirmed. "There isn't a governmental organization in the world that can make the move without sparking something big."

"But SELF can go," Jonny realized. "Because we're kind of international and kind of neutral at the same time."

"And because we've made inroads with a few governments," Benton gestured to Ivan and Dmitri. "Quietly, and the vast majority of officials don't know anything, but we have a few allies."

"It's like when you'd get sent in to find something that was in a delicate spot because you weren't working for the US government anymore," Jonny nodded. "I get it. So what's this got to do with me?"

"We have to get you out of Cascade, Jonny," Jim said. "It's getting harder and harder for you, and Hadji…he's having more trouble every day from what Blair tells me."

"We could just send you to Palm Key for spring break," Race put in.

"Or you may join the mission to the Arctic Circle." Ivan said. "At this point, we are planning a pure infiltration and reconnaissance, not a rescue on so little information. But you and Jim have an advantage over every other Sentinel here."

"They don't know me," Jonny realized. "All of you worked with a couple of different governments. If these guys are good enough to know how to find retired Sentinels, they might have all your files, too."

"Which is why I have to go," Jim said. "But they," he gestured at the screen, "don't want me going in alone. They want me to take what the Rangers would call a 'battle buddy' with me, just in case."

"You want me to help you infiltrate a Sentinel prison to find out who's stealing Sentinels so we can rescue them?" Jonny was surprised.

" _I_ do not," Benton said sharply. "It's too dangerous. Race and I would be there as support only, but we can't possibly infiltrate. We're not Sentinels, but for all we know, some of the people running the place might be. If they are even partially as talented as you two, we'd be discovered at once."

"But the choice must be yours," Dmitri said. "I was just your age when I first joined a unit and went into the Caucasus Mountains to try to eliminate the rebels. This is no less dangerous, perhaps moreso." He smiled a little. "But you have a great deal more experience than I did with such danger."

"It would get you out of Cascade," Race said. Though his face clearly demonstrated that he hated this plan, he always tried to give the kids the straight truth. "That would be better for you and Hadji. There's no telling if there's more foxes, or jaguars, for that matter, at the place, but it's a risk we'd have to take with anybody who went in."

"You could get found out and forced into the program," Benton said. "Or worse."

"You'd be backing me up," Jim put in. "You would do exactly what I say without question no matter what. You'd have to be ready to take orders like a common soldier on his first mission."

"You might get hurt," Dmitri said softly. "It would certainly be more perilous than any of your previous adventures."

"But," Ivan's voice rang, "it would allow us to strike a blow for Sentinels and freedom throughout the world. Either way, Jim is going. He will be safer if he does not go alone."

"There's one more catch," Jim said sharply, turning to Jonny fully and holding his eyes with a steely gaze. "No matter what you decide, you can't tell anybody what we're doing. Not Jessie, not Blair, not Simon, _nobody_."

"Why not?"

"Because Jim has opted not to include his Guide in this plan," Ivan said, "and we have reluctantly agreed."

"If we do this and they know about it, they'll try to come after us," Jim explained. "This is way too dangerous for Blair. Worse for him than you, even. If you can't keep that promise, we keep driving right here and now and I lock you in a DHS safehouse in Mexico until the end of spring break."

"We'd be back in time for class?" Jonny asked.

"Yes," Benton nodded. "It's the only time Jim could get away without arousing suspicion." He twitched before admitting, "Either way, you are his cover. The story will be that you and he have left to put some distance between you and Cascade while we finish training Yosyp in order to send him home. What is up to you is where you want to be for the duration of the operation."

Jonny could see his father virtually pleading with him to stay away, to go to Palm Key, to be safe. But Jonny looked at Jim and felt the tug of a Sentinel's instincts. He _had_ to protect his people. He'd done a piss-poor job protecting Hadji from his pain so far, and so he had some atonement to do. But it was more than that. Sentinels were Jonny's people, just like Rainier was his territory and Cascade was Jim's. People just like Ngama and Jonny himself were being stolen away by somebody who wanted their powers. And he was being given an opportunity to do something about it while at the same time bringing relief to his Guide. He _could_ have just stuck with the latter and left the former to Jim, but at the same time he really couldn't do that.

"Sorry, dad and Race," Jonny said softly. "But someone once told me that 'the path of a Sentinel belongs not to me, but to the people I protect.' I know you say I have a choice in this, but I really don't."

He looked up at Jim. "When do we leave?"


	5. Chapter 5

I may have fudged the exact timeline of the canonical Quest backstory. Eh, it's close enough.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Benton?" Race asked.

"No! Absolutely not!" Benton slammed his suitcase shut with more force than necessary. Then he sighed and turned to face his friend, sitting on the bed of his rooms at the lodge. "But I can't stop him."

"You could," Race shrugged. "Jonny might be legally old enough to make his own choices, but you're the one with the plane. You don't have to give him a ride into all this."

"I know, but if I don't then he'll just find some other way, probably a more dangerous way." Benton ran a hand through his hair. "I guess this is what happens when your kids get old enough to do really stupid things. You try to help them do them safely."

Race laughed. "Something like that." He moved more fully into the room, abandoning leaning on the door-frame to sit beside the man he'd guarded – and called his best friend – for many years. "If you told him you didn't want him to go, really asked him not to, he might listen, you know."

"To appease me? Maybe," Benton said. "But he'd resent it. That boy's got so much of his mother in him. She always wanted to be everywhere, righting every wrong, upholding the downtrodden." He looked across at Race. "A bit like certain stubborn bodyguards I could mention."

"Oh no," Race put up his hands defensively. "I'm not in it for the heroics."

Benton coughed delicately.

"I'm not in it for the heroics _anymore_ ," Race clarified. "Now I mostly seem to pull everyone's fat out of the fire when things get hot. No crusading for me, Doc." He paused and then asked more quietly, "Since you brought it up, what _would_ Rachel say about all this?"

"She..." Benton closed his eyes and pictured his wife, whose face he never forgot, not for an instant every day he lived without her. "She would be proud. Worried, but proud. And she'd probably insist on going with him. She was the one with the genes that made it possible for Jonny to be a Sentinel, remember."

"Explains how she was so good at sniffing out trouble for you before I came along," Race nodded. After a moment, "I wish I'd known her."

"I wish you had, too," Benton said sincerely. "She'd have liked you. And...there'd be someone for me to remember her with. Jonny doesn't know her but from photographs."

"I think he knows her pretty darn well," Race returned. Benton looked at him in surprise. "He's got her spirit, doesn't he? And her senses. He knows what that means."

Benton nodded wordlessly, consumed for a moment by his memories. It was the secret reason he kept so very busy, even though he could have retired a decade or more before. The reason he hated idleness. Any chance to think always brought his mind back to the one thing it could never quite leave behind. It had been almost sixteen years and Rachel's death was no farther from his heart in many ways.

Race let Benton brood with a sympathetic ache of his own. He'd only been brought in to the Quests' lives after Rachel's death when the government realized how vulnerable their prized scientist really was. He'd stayed on with Benton for years after quitting the state-sponsored work officially, and he had kept the man and his family safe and alive for so many years, but the fact that he was a year late to the loss that haunted Benton so – it was among his greatest regrets.

"Last call, Benton," Race said after a moment. "Do we let Jonny go, or not?"

"I want to say no, Race. But..."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm in that exact same boat with you," Race put a hand on his shoulder. "I'd rather lock the kid in a box and ship him to Palm Key rather than let him go on this crazy mission with Ellison. But..." He shrugged helplessly. "It's his call. And, as much as I hate to admit it, it's _necessary_. For the greater good, if not for our kid."

"Just promise me this, Race." Doctor Quest looked up with a hard, desperate light in his eyes.

"Anything. Name it."

"Tell me you've got a backup plan for our backup plan. Something even I don't know about so we can get him out safely no matter what happens."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry, Doc," Race smiled a little. "Remember, I was a SEAL. We don't go in places we haven't got at least five good ways out of. And for Jonny," the smile hardened, "I'm willing to _create_ a few new ways by _any_ means necessary."

-==OOO==-

Jonny shifted his weight from one foot to the other, unbelievably nervous.

"Stop that," Jim said. "It's annoying. And obvious."

"Easy for you to say," Jonny shot back without any real heat. The end of the first half of the semester had left him jittery after his continued close monitoring and regular repeats of what he and Jim had decided to call "foxball" in a fit of pique.

With weeks of practice, Jim barely needed to concentrate to summon his awareness of the spirit animals, and Jonny's red fox had proved that time made him more tricky, not less. "Foxball" was an appropriate term for Jim's end of the experience, his jaguar chasing the critter _everywhere_ , including through walls and in and out of the blue forest, while Jim himself restrained Jonny until the jaguar caught his prey and shoved him back into his Sentinel. Ivan had been right – no other Sentinel who had tried had been able to get the fox to do anything but come sailing out Jonny's back to continue the merry chase. And with each passing day, the problem had become worse. Jonny was down to fewer than six hours of sanity before the pull of the other fox, which they had started terming "Sentinel sickness," overcame him and he lost all rationality.

So between that, actually attempting to keep up his classes at Rainier (Benton had offered to intercede and have Jonny take the term off entirely, which had resulted in a near explosion consisting of arguments on every topic from wasted time, beating Jessie in the bet, and proving himself, at which point Benton couldn't help but back down or risk seriously undermining his son), and worrying about the mission, the time had flown in a storm of strain and volatile outbursts. And it was worse for Jim who was balancing foxball with his work as a detective, preparing for the mission himself, and working with the Council up at the lodge.

For the last six days, Jonny had been sleeping on a cot in Jim's loft apartment while Blair stayed in the SELF house with Hadji just to save time. Nobody liked the arrangement, not least because still, weeks later, Hadji had refused to see Jonny face-to-face.

Until today.

As far as the others knew, this was just a brief goodbye before Jim and Jonny went off with Race and Benton to a distance great enough to alleviate the Sentinel sickness on all sides. Blair had jumped to the assumption of fishing, and it had been a plausible enough answer, so they were geared up for some ocean fishing, somewhere far away and definitely not in the Arctic. The four would head out, leaving Hadji to finally be free of the unending impact to himself while he and Blair hammered away as best they could on Yosyp, conveying as much information about their senses management techniques as possible. With luck, the concentrated spring break period would be enough for Yosyp to return to his unit stationed a continent away and when Jonny came back it would be over.

But Jonny had refused, _refused_ to go unless he could say goodbye to Hadji. It had been a near thing convincing the young man to acquiesce. No one knew why Hadji had been so adamant, so unyielding, but in the end he had agreed to just this much.

The lodge was too close to risk Jonny's Sentinel sickness, so they had decided to hold the meeting at one of the private airfields south of Cascade, one in the opposite direction from the SELF location. The Dragonfly was packed and ready to fly, and Jonny had finished his mid-term exams and done all his spring break homework in advance, so he lacked now only the fulfillment of that promise before they would be off to dangerous parts unknown.

"That's them," Jonny said suddenly.

Jim raised an eyebrow. "I hear a car, but nobody's talking. How can _you_ be so sure?"

Jonny put a hand on his chest. "Because I can feel the hurt again. It happens when we're on the same side of campus at Rainier, too. The closer together we are, the more of it leaks to me."

Jim wondered about that, wondered what Sandburg would say if Jim asked him about those days right after the fountain. Wondered if Blair would recall an ache present in the hospital, one Jim remembered clearly that had only let up when he journeyed to Mexico with Simon. Wondered what _else_ Blair hadn't talked about, maybe hadn't even realized he remembered in the aftermath of that terrible time in their partnership. But Blair had been avoiding the subject as if it were the root of all plagues, too. Jim didn't know what the Guides felt or guessed or knew that he didn't, but he was getting tired of it. _After this mission_ , he promised himself, _we'll actually talk. If what it takes to get answers is me admitting stuff about the whole Alex Barnes catastrophe, I can handle it. Anything is better than this weird silence on Sandburg's favorite subject – Sentinels in general, and me in particular_.

A car appeared around the security gate and Jim knew at once that Blair had accompanied Hadji for the send-off. Also in tow was Jessie, and she held Bandit in her lap. The little dog had become a favorite up at the lodge where he spent all his time, since Jonny could hardly keep him at Rainier and Jim didn't want him at the loft. The instant the car stopped a few yards away, Jessie had the door open and Bandit raced to Jonny, licking and wiggling.

"Hey boy!" Jonny smiled, dropping to a knee and meeting his dog in a crashing hug. Bandit actually tipped Jonny over and planted himself on his chest, bathing his face between joyful barking.

"Apparently he wants to come with us," Race said dryly from where he and Benton had appeared beside the open cargo hatch of the Dragonfly.

"Sorry, boy," Benton said. "This isn't a trip for you."

Jessie stepped carefully around where Jonny was trying to dislodge his dog and hugged her father. "Have fun, okay? You could use a break."

"Me?" he laughed. "I'm the guy who's been doing nothing but hanging out at a mountain resort playing basketball!"

"And brokering lots and lots of mini peace treaties with the new guests," Blair added. "She's right. Go take some time and put all this Sentinel business behind you."

Jim caught the tiny tension in Race at that remark, the slight hitch in his respiration and his heart-rate, and he was supremely grateful Blair wasn't a Sentinel. Though he also noticed that Jessie looked at her father with a little more wariness. To distract her, he turned to her.

"Remember our deal from last fall?"

"Of course," Jessie said, extricating herself from Race and facing Jim. "Want me to do it again?"

"Absolutely."

"Deal?" Blair asked.

"To keep an eye on you and watch your back," she explained.

"You sent a teenager to look out for me, man?" Blair moaned. "That's so totally emasculating."

"Yeah," Jessie rolled her eyes at him, "because you care so much about appearing to be macho."

"Well, no, of course not. You're way more macho than I'll ever be," he smiled at her.

"So that's why I'm the one doing the lookout." She grinned triumphantly. "Right, Jim?"

"Hey, whatever works," Jim shrugged good-naturedly. And it had worked – Jessie had kept Blair from getting hurt when that crazy firebug had thought a little bottle of explosives was the way to keep the investigation from finding him. Jim had given her a gun then, but now she had one of her own, he knew, courtesy of Race and Agent Fritz.

Jim had a sudden twinge of uncertainty. A lot of the "brawn" of this group – himself, Race, even Jonny – was heading out, leaving behind the "brains." _But_ , he reminded himself firmly, _Simon and Joel will watch out for them. And Jessie. Oh, and seventy military-trained Sentinels. They'll be fine_.

 _I hope_.

Thoughts of the powers of the Sandburg Zone dancing in his head, Jim draped an arm over his Guide's shoulders. "You take care of yourself, Chief." Then, with a wry grin, "I left Jessie a list of everything she needs for the care and feeding of my partner, and…"

"Don't even, man!" Blair laughed, shoving at Jim. "If the word 'babysitter' comes out of your mouth, you're going to be sorry."

"I can't possibly be Blair's babysitter," Jessie said, blinking her eyes with an owlish innocence. "I'm not getting paid for it."

Race slapped his knee and howled with laughter while Sandburg was clearly torn between tackling Jessie and Jim. He settled for the person he wasn't going to see for a while and initiated some sort of wrestling/tickling/head-scruffing war with his Sentinel. Jim reveled in it even as he easily dodged his Guide's inexperienced attacks. This ease, this closeness – this was what it was all about. This was what he was protecting by keeping the mission a secret. This was what he could never risk losing.

While Blair tried in vain to get some kind of advantage over his much larger friend, it offered Benton and Race and Jessie something to focus on to give Jonny and Hadji a few minutes of privacy.

Jonny finally extricated himself from Bandit, privately grateful for the little dog. Not only had he cheered Jonny up tremendously, but he had also bought time for Jonny and Hadji to be separated by only a yard of air before they actually had to look at one another. But he couldn't hide from his Guide, not when he needed to see him so badly.

Standing, with Bandit sitting possessively on his shoes, Jonny couldn't have taken a step forward if he wanted to. But as he stared at Hadji for the first time in weeks, he felt frozen.

"Hadj! You look terrible!" he said breathlessly.

"As do you, Jonny," Hadji said softly.

Jonny wondered if he could _possibly_ look as bad as Hadji. He knew he'd lost some weight from the stress and everything, and he knew he had circles under his eyes, but Hadji looked…almost sick. His eyes were sunken and his brown skin seemed greyish in the bright sunlight, and paper-thin. He was dressed as neatly as always, his turban tied just so, but he didn't look right. He looked…frail. Wasted, even. Jonny opened his senses. Hadji didn't smell right, either.

"Have you been eating? Sleeping?" Jonny blurted out.

Hadji closed his eyes with a sad smile. "Have you?"

Jonny couldn't answer that. Instead, he coughed. "I…I just want to say…"

"Jonny." Hadji's voice stopped him. He was almost whispering, and the sorrow was so deep. "Jonny, I do not blame you for any of this. I know it is not your will to hurt me."

" _Never_ ," he said fiercely. " _Never_. I promise."

"I know," Hadji finally looked up again. "I know that, my friend."

Jonny's heart almost stopped at the expression in Hadji's eyes. It was the same desolation, loneliness, despair and endless ache he'd only seen once before – when Hadji showed him his childhood. He remembered with a stabbing pain how Hadji believed with his whole heart that Jonny was the only thing that had given him life. And now…

Jonny couldn't have stopped himself if he wanted to. He dislodged Bandit and stumbled across the space that divided them, flinging his arms around Hadji tightly.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Jonny held on as though Hadji might shatter without him there. And feared that he actually might.

"Oh, Jonny," Hadji said, bringing his arms up to hold on just as tightly. "My brother."

Jonny heard the repressed sob in that word and his own tears threatened. "Please don't give up. I'm _not_ breaking this bond on you, Hadj. I _promise_."

"I will never give up," Hadji's voice was quietly desperate. "I will wait a hundred lifetimes if necessary."

"Two weeks more," Jonny shook his head, bumping his ear into Hadji's turban. "Just two weeks."

"Actually," Hadji audibly fought to sound more like himself, "it should only be a matter of hours. Once you are far enough from Cascade, the compulsion will end for both of us."

"I'm sorry I didn't go right away, the first day," Jonny admitted, something he had thought about constantly but not said aloud to anyone else. "I should have. I should have gone back to the Quest compound right then." He gulped. "I stayed for school and because I kept thinking…"

"You kept thinking we could beat it," Hadji finished softly. "You kept thinking we would find a way out. As we always have before."

Jonny nodded, flushed with shame.

"You know my philosophy," Hadji said firmly, gripping Jonny's elbows and pushing him back so they could meet one anothers' eyes. "We are where we are meant to be. There is meaning in this experience, and to have ended it before your heart told you it was time would have invalidated all the learning we have done."

"What learning?" Jonny demanded. "How to avoid each other? How bad that hurts?"

"Answer me honestly, Jonny Quest," Hadji held his gaze. "Are you not more familiar with your spirit animal now? Is Jim not more readily connected to his own?" When Jonny closed his eyes, Hadji pressed, "Blair and I have gained much insight as we have struggled to mend this wound in me. And your father has learned a great deal about Sentinels so we will all be better prepared should it happen again in the future. This," his voice hitched, "this suffering will serve many people well."

"But not us," Jonny whispered.

"No, not us," Hadji agreed. "And for that, I am sorry."

"No way!" Jonny shook his head as his eyes flew open. "If you're not mad at me for not getting out of town, you can't be mad at yourself for not finding a way around this. If," he sighed, "if it's meant to be this way, that goes for both of us."

"You are correct. 'Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.' Khalil Gibran."

"I guess," Jonny said. He squeezed his hands where he mirrored Hadji's grip, feeling the thin elbows and sensing with his acute touch that Hadji's body was in at least as battered shape as his heart. He became aware of silence and turned to see that everyone else was pointedly looking away, but had apparently finished their own goodbyes.

"Jonny," Hadji said softly, drawing back his Sentinel's attention. "If you can allow it…"

"What? Anything," Jonny said fervently.

"I understand that you will be unable to communicate with me once you reach your destination," Hadji said.

Jonny's heart twisted at the words – it was true, of course, because no one else knew the truth of the mission, but it still hurt that it looked like Jonny didn't _want_ to talk to Hadji, which was the farthest thing from the truth ever. He nodded and hoped he kept his expression neutral enough.

"But there is something…you need to know."

"Tell me, Hadj."

Hadji closed his eyes and pulled Jonny back into a hug. And from the hug, into the indigo savannah.

Jonny looked around in confusion. "What—?"

"Only here can I do this," Hadji said, appearing beside him. "And we have very little time."

The ground underfoot actually shook and Jonny knew somehow that this place was very, very unstable with the break in their bond still present. And he understood that it was Hadji holding it together by sheer force of will.

"Okay," Jonny said. "Whatever it is, go for it."

Hadji put an arm out and the tawny eagle soared down from the sky, landing lightly. Jonny was aghast at how rotten it looked – and wondered how on earth it could fly with two broken wings before he realized they weren't on earth so clearly the same rules didn't apply – but he focused on watching Hadji. Hadji ran a hand over the bird's head and back delicately before his fingers combed into the long, stiff feathers of the tail. With a swift snap, he broke off the largest tail feather. The eagle vanished.

Hadji held out his hand, palm up, and the single feather rose from it until it floated, glowing a soft golden color. "Another Sentinel or a thousand other Sentinels or the world itself," Hadji said with great feeling, "none of them will ever break what is between us. I won't allow it."

A wind kicked up, fanning out Hadji's long hair, which was never bound in a turban here and Jonny didn't know why he noticed or why it mattered. The air itself seemed to glow a little.

"Take this, Jonny Quest. My Sentinel. So that when the Sentinel sickness passes, you will have no trouble finding me again."

Jonny held out his hands for the feather. He was not surprised when it transferred to his palms for only a moment, feeling like a tiny heartbeat, before it passed into his chest.

The savannah vanished.

Jonny blinked and squeezed Hadji tightly. "I don't know what that cost you," he whispered, "but thanks."

"Be safe, Jonny," Hadji answered softly. "I will do whatever I can so you can come home soon."

Jonny buried his head in Hadji's shoulder for a moment, fighting tears against so many different pains and only some of them the result of Sentinel sickness. All he could say was, "Take care, my brother. My Guide."

And before he lost his nerve, Jonny released Hadji all at once and strode into the waiting Dragonfly. He didn't dare look back.

-==OOO==-

Simon was waiting at the lodge when Blair pulled up with Jessie and Hadji and Bandit. Jessie greeted him cheerfully before urging Bandit to follow her out into the grounds – the pup was sad his person was gone again, and Jessie knew the quickest way to cheer him up was a romp in the garden.

"How'd it go?" Simon asked.

Blair glanced to Hadji, who nodded before heading into the building with a polite wave. He turned back to Simon. "Better than I expected, I guess."

"I gotta say, Sandburg, it's hard for me to grasp what's going on with that kid." Simon crossed his arms. "The Sentinel thing I even kind of get. We've seen Jim go a little weird too often to deny that. And an hour ago I had to get someone to go tie up Yosyp again after he started using his bedpan as a melee weapon. Even from upstairs we could hear the banging. _I_ could hear the banging."

Blair smiled in spite of himself. Simon had taken to SELF like a fish to water, really. His natural leadership and gift for command had filled in a major void when Jim was busy keeping Jonny sane. Simon didn't know it yet, but as soon as Jim came back from fishing, the Council was going to offer him a seat – that was how impressed Ivan was.

"But Hadji," Simon continued. "It's like…"

"It's like a part of his soul has been ripped out," Blair said softly, staring into the distance. "Like there's a whole chamber of his heart missing and he's bleeding to death every minute."

"Sandburg?"

"They told you, I know they did, about how Jonny bonded with Hadji," Blair said. "About what it felt like to Jonny when Hadji died."

"Yes, they did."

"Well, when you're a Guide and you've forged that connection to a Sentinel…" he heaved a deep breath. "You're not just you anymore. You're you with a piece of the Sentinel sort of permanently up in here," he put a hand on his chest. "Like…"

"I get it," Simon cut him off. "It's how you feel when you're a parent and your kid is small," he said. "They're what your whole life means. Your heart walking around in one tiny, precious bundle."

"Right," Blair nodded. "Except that connection is a lot more immediate on our side. So, right now, Jonny's feeling like the bond should be broken so he can go mate with a Sentinel. It hurts him, but his senses and emotions are all mixed up so it doesn't cut him apart. But for Hadji…"

"It's like Jonny has died," Simon finished, understanding. "Like he is alone."

"And his last memory of their connection is Jonny's rejection," Blair added.

"Did that happen to you?" Simon asked gently.

Blair shrugged. "Yeah? Only not as bad. It was different with me and Jim. And it ended, which is what matters."

Simon nodded even though he wondered if he should entirely believe Blair that it was so easy to dismiss. He headed into the lodge, Sandburg falling into step at his side. "So what now?"

"Now," Blair revived a bit, "Hadji and I do massively intensive work with Yosyp as soon as he's rational. We're going to try to cram months of work and years of my fields notes into two weeks so before they get back he can function like Jim does. A Sentinel who can operate without a Guide _and_ without any kind of interference from the government. The other Sentinels will get weaned off the Soviet system slowly – we're already decreasing the numbers of white noise generators in each room and soon we'll start in on teaching them about how to control the dials in their sleep. Yosyp gets the advanced, sped up course."

"So he can leave."

"Honestly," Blair admitted, "I think he's leaving anyway. We just want to stuff him as full of knowledge and technique as possible before that happens. But we can't ask Jonny and Hadji to do this anymore."

"They could leave Cascade," Simon pointed out. "Yosyp has nowhere else to go."

"We suggested that to the Council, but they hated the idea. I'm not even sure why." Blair shrugged. "There's some things about the way Ivan deals with her Sentinels that I just haven't figured out yet."

"So, in the meantime, is there anything I can do to help?"

Blair looked at Simon and thought for a moment. He took a breath. "There's one thing. It's…kinda small, but, you know, every bit helps."

"What is it?"

"That missing kid? Mark?"

"The one you told me is dead."

"Him," Blair nodded. "It's tearing Hadji up inside to know he's dead and not be able to tell Chris. He feels awfully guilty about holding that information back from his friend. It's just one more worry he doesn't need right now."

"You're asking me to find him." Simon raised an eyebrow.

"If you can," Blair nodded. "I know it's a needle-in-a-field-of-haystacks case, but it would mean a lot to Chris, and that would mean a lot to Hadji."

"And you?" Simon asked with sudden insight.

Blair nodded. "Yeah, and me. Cascade is Jim's territory, but Rainier's Anthro Department has been my only home since I was sixteen. Everybody who has ever been a part of it has been a part of my life, too. Yeah, it would mean a lot to me."

"Okay Sandburg," Simon said. "I'll talk to Joel and tell him to bring in Rafe and Brown. Maybe between the four of us we can do what _Sentinel_ Ellison couldn't," he teased. "Good old detective work has gotten us a lot of wins over the years."

"Thanks, Simon," Blair smiled.

"Aw, get out of here," Simon chided, just glad to see at least some relief in the kid's eyes. There had been too much gloominess around here for too long. SELF was meant to be a sanctuary, a restful, safe place for those welcomed into its borders. So far, it had been nothing but a chaotic torment to some of its youngest members. Even Daryl had spoken about how upset Jessie and Jonny were in class.

Blair rushed off towards the stairs to the medical lab a few levels down. Wafting up from there were the faint sounds of Russian cursing. Simon prayed that the Dragonfly got Jonny out of range _fast_. He never, ever wanted to wrestle a _full_ bedpan away from a delirious Sentinel again. _Ever_.

 _Well, looks like my work here is done for the day_ , he thought to himself. _Not a lot more I can do right now to help out, and it's not like they won't call if they need me_.

Simon decided now was as good a time as any to get to work on his other project. Striding out the door and back into the brisk spring wind, he pulled out his phone and dialed Joel.

"Taggart. This is Banks. Bring Rafe and Brown up to speed on the Peterson case of Jim's. We've got a missing person to find."

-==OOO==-

"So, where are we going?" Jonny hadn't said a word for the first two hours in the air, but at last he turned to the other men in the cockpit. He knew only the vague details – he hadn't wanted to spill anything in one of his fits of Sentinel sickness so they had opted to wait until after departing to share the plan with him.

But now that distance had at last shattered the compulsion to track down that other Sentinel and he was thinking and feeling clearly again, he was eager to get to work. The sooner the mission began, the sooner he could go home to Hadji and make them both whole again.

"A disputed island in the northern Barents Sea," Benton answered. "It's part of a section of territory that Russia and Norway have been struggling to gain control over for decades. It's also not far from another region being investigated for oil and gas."

"Isn't that a stupid place to put a secret hideout?" Jonny asked. "People would be monitoring the area all the time. They'd notice it."

"Not if it's disguised," Jim said. He pulled up an image. "On paper and even via satellite, the installation appears to be nothing more than an outpost for oil exploration, perfectly legal under the treaties between Norway and Russia. With one problem."

"Let me guess," Jonny said. "The oil exploration firm is something like Global Wellmen Oil?"

"Got it in one," Race nodded. "Not quite our old friends, but the same basic setup."

"Why doesn't Russia do something about it, then?" Jonny asked. "They have to know. They've got Sentinels of their own, and they know all about the mercenary groups that steal them."

"But Norway doesn't," Benton reminded him. "So if Russia started anything that might even vaguely resemble military maneuvers in that area of sea, Norway would assume it was an aggressive step forward in their negotiations over the territory. It could start a war."

"Lucky for us," Race said, "your dad's got a friend in the Russian government who gave us clearance to come in and study the area ourselves. Norway approved it, too, so we won't be causing any trouble."

"I'm ostensibly looking into the phenomenon of the Aurora Borealis," Benton added.

"That gives us all we need to be on the ground not far from where you'll be," Race continued.

"Then how do we get in?" Jonny asked.

"First, we do a flyover," Jim answered. "We need to make sure there are Sentinels there, and also look for any signs of Sentinel sickness on either of us. Then we'll worry about getting in."

They didn't have much longer to wait. With the Dragonfly able to travel at speeds up to Mach 1.1, it was only a couple of hours later they were narrowing in on the area they would need to test. Race slowed the 'Fly considerably well before they entered range of any instruments, and, thanks to one of Benton's tricks, cloaked the jet to look more like a common Russian military type that would do routine patrols in the area to any radar. He began to fly in a predictable military pattern.

"You've both got an hour," Race said. "If there's a chance of more Sentinel sickness, we are out of here."

Jonny and Jim shrugged at one another and settled down to wait.

Twenty or so minutes into the flyover, Jim sat up straight. "There are definitely Sentinels here."

"You can tell?" Benton asked.

Jim nodded. "Yes. It's like when we went to Fokino. Plus," with a wry smile, "I'm used to what it feels like being surrounded by them now."

"…Yeah," Jonny said slowly. "I'm starting to get that too. Like…an itch, almost."

"Instinctive behaviors," Benton nodded. "You both sense their presence and want to establish yourselves in the hierarchy."

"So?" Race asked. "Any uncontrollable desires to go find somebody for some private time?"

Jonny flushed bright red and shook his head. Jim closed his eyes.

"No, I don't think so. The spirit animals aren't reacting that way."

"I guess that green-lights this mission," Race said lightly.

"I guess it does," Benton replied tightly. "All right. Then the plan is to drop you outside Murmansk. It's a big enough city that whoever is out there is probably using it for supplies."

Race continued, "There's an informant with a connection to the people recruiting for this place. She's been able to secure a position for her 'brother' and her 'son' who are both partial Sentinels. Her 'brother' went off to America as a baby before returning here recently looking for work, but her 'son' is local and eager to make money to support his very poor family. Because both are only partial Sentinels, they can serve as guards better than normal soldiers."

"How do we know we can trust this informant?" Jonny wanted to know.

Jim smiled. "Because she's Ivanna's niece. She's not a Sentinel herself, but she's been around them her whole life. When people started poking around looking for guards who were familiar with Sentinels and Sentinel abilities without actually being Sentinels themselves, she made herself known."

"Good thing you speak Russian, Jonny," Benton said. "It made it a lot easier to just replace the pictures in the governmental records for Jan and Sevastyan Alkaev with you and Jim. Sevastyan won't be expected to know too much Russian, so that covers Jim. But you're going to have to keep the full extent of your command of English to yourself, Jonny, and hide your American accent."

"Do you speak any other languages, Jim?" Jonny asked.

"Chopec," he said. "Some Spanish. English. Oh, and _cop_."

"Chopec, then," Jonny decided with a snort. "Teach me just a few words of it. Then I can at least communicate with you via a code. And it won't matter if the other Sentinels overhear because they won't know what language it is."

"You'll have a day or so to prepare while you're in Murmansk," Race said. "But before long our new friends will come calling to bring you in as guards. You've already been checked out about as thoroughly as possible, so you just have to pass the final interview and get on site. You'll have until next Thursday to get a good look around. Then you have to get out and make the pickup on the other end of the island."

"Simple, obviously," Jonny quipped, feeling nervous.

"Don't forget," Jim said firmly, "I'm your 'battle buddy.' We're going in as a pair for a reason. And they'll assume you're young and nervous so they'll keep you with me."

Jonny nodded. _I really am young and nervous_ , he thought to himself.

"And we'll have your backs," Race said. "Might as well load them up with their toys now, Doc."

"Most of the stuff we'll be sending with you is familiar to you both. But the real secret is these." Benton took a small box from his briefcase and passed to where Jim and Jonny sat. "Put them on now and don't ever take them off."

Jonny frowned at the pair of nondescript watches. They didn't look anything like regular Quest tech. They didn't even look new.

"What makes them special?" Jim asked.

"These are your emergency beacons," Benton said. "If anything happens and you need immediate help, probably loud, invasive help," he slid a glance over to his bodyguard, "just do something to the watch. Smash it or take it apart or destroy it somehow. Any significant change will initiate a chemical reaction that will put out a faint signal we can trace but shouldn't show up on any sensors not specifically calibrated to it."

"So if you need us to come in guns a-blazing, mess up the watch and I'll be there with guns to spare," Race said staunchly.

-==OOO==-

A day and a half later, Jonny stood up, feeling the rough stitching of his new uniform biting into his skin after the two-hour interrogation (definitely _not_ what he would call a friendly interview). He forced the dial for touch down and willed himself to get used to these coarse woolen clothes.

"It will be good to have you aboard, Mister Jan Alkaev. You seem quite intelligent and dedicated," the man said in Russian as he stood also. "I hope you will enjoy your work."

"It will be very profitable for my family," Jonny replied confidently. "Thank you for the opportunity." He extended his hand and shook the meaty one across from him.

The man smiled with satisfaction at the firm, unhesitating grip. Yes, this boy would make an excellent addition to the facility.

"Welcome to Providence Partners Interglobal."


	6. Chapter 6

Time for some adventures in undercover work.

Enjoy!

* * *

Jonny shivered. "I hate cold," he muttered.

Jim smiled. "So does another kid partner I know."

They were both speaking in a low undertone, and that against the noise of the large helicopter made them almost impossible to hear by anyone not a Sentinel, but they had agreed to avoid all real names just in case they were ever recorded. Both their covers showed them listed as partial Sentinels – with only enhanced vision and smell. It was exactly the type of sensory advantage that Providence was looking for because it made them excellent guards, but without the enhanced hearing they would be hard-pressed to spy against their employers. Jim and Jonny had never been so grateful for the dials invented by Blair to control their senses; both had simply turned hearing, touch, and taste down to below normal when tested.

No Sentinel without Sandburg's unique training could have fooled the tests, because no other Sentinel in the world had such fine control.

Within hours of passing the interviews and tests, Jim and Jonny had been bundled up with a meager bag of possessions into a chopper built specifically to handle distance flying in the extreme cold of the Arctic. At all times, they had monitored their spirit animals, giving them a true advantage – no Sentinel could get anywhere near them without the spirit animals recognizing them as such. But none of the other six men on the helicopter with them being delivered to their new duties had even the barest hint of anything of interest to the spirit animals. There was a certain humor when the duo realized that the very lessons that were making this infiltration possible were the ones being taught right that minute to other Sentinels, so their advantage would be lost in the near future; but for now Jonny and Jim were going to use it with abandon.

The headsets they wore crackled with the voice of the pilot. "There," he said in Russian, pointing. Jonny and Jim had both been able to see the station much earlier than the warning, but they nodded and squinted out the window as expected.

Below, on a rocky, frosted-looking spot amidst ice flows packed sometimes so tightly one could have driven to the island, there was a dome. It was probably only a few stories in height, but its base was quite wide, covering more than an acre. Jonny frowned. A building that size made perfect sense for a multi-year exploratory base as served the Providence cover story, but there was no way it could house the number of people they expected were somewhere within while still serving as a cover on the inside.

Jim nudged him slightly and Jonny read his expression and followed Jim's lead by piggy-backing his hearing to his sight – something else Providence couldn't anticipate they could do. At once he was able to make out a lot of sound echoing around strangely, and a lot of it not in the dome itself. There must be a complex dug out of the earth, probably no more than a handful of floors beneath the surface.

And from the sounds he could pick up, they were very _full_ floors.

The helicopter came in on a low approach, skimming over the cold, rocky surface of the island's shore before settling on a landing pad beside the dome. Jonny and Jim grabbed their stuff and disembarked with the others, walking quickly in the freezing wind to get to where some walls were built up as a shelter around the dome's entrance. Standing inside the airlock door was the man who had interviewed them and an Asian woman, both wrapped in thick coats. Their interviewer was a lean, strong-looking Russian who had spoken perfect English to Jim, but the woman was clearly the person in charge.

They stepped into the airlock and it slid closed behind them, a blast of hot air immediately filling the chilled space.

"You all speak Russian except him," the interviewer said in the language, pointing at Jim. He looked at Jonny. "Translate for him for now. If he cannot speak it in two months he will be fired."

"Yes sir," Jonny replied. Then he quickly repeated the man's words in English to Jim, not editing them one bit though he added an accented lisp to his pronunciation.

"Welcome to Providence Partners Interglobal," the unknown woman said. "You will be reporting to Mister Sokoloff directly, but you are under my command. I am Yi Sung. You will call me Miss Yi. If you do as you are told and ask no questions, we will reward you handsomely." She left the threat of failure implicit. Jonny translated for Jim again.

Suddenly Jonny became aware of an odd itch. It took all his self-control not to flinch with surprise as a large bird appeared as a ghostly companion to the woman, a cormorant. Miss Yi did not react to the bird, continuing her speech about basic duties. Whenever she paused, he immediately translated to Jim, again not changing a word except to pretend to have only a middling command of English, but it gave him the chance to look away from their employers and exchange a glance with Jim. Jim's face was stony.

But his jaguar appeared beside Jonny and delicately head-butted him. The fox appeared as well and seemed grateful to have something larger to hide under.

When Jonny turned back to Miss Yi, the cormorant was preening itself as though there were not an enormous jaguar and a red fox within a yard of it. It didn't even seem to notice them.

 _How is that possible_? Jonny wondered. _Unless_ …

But his thought was interrupted by Miss Yi saying, "Now, follow me and you can store your belongings. You are already in uniform," she swept an appraising eye over the eight men, "so you can begin at once." Jonny hurriedly repeated her words to Jim as they moved into the dome.

The dome looked very like what Jonny expected it was meant to approximate – there was a mix of vehicles and equipment piled in one section, some barracks and a large central hall on the other end, and a great deal of space for everything from desks covered with maps to designated paths for dragging the large supports and what might have been pieces of an oil platform around. But they rounded the back of the barracks and came upon the only truly out-of-place item – the top shaft of a freight elevator.

Miss Yi held up a key and explained that the elevator buttons only led to the surface and the area directly below – everything farther down was accessible only by turning the key a precise amount. They descended only two levels before stopping. Jonny guessed from what he could hear that the level directly above was another bit of window-dressing, probably with storage and a lot of useless equipment. But here, two levels down, the façade melted away and the space looked more like the prison it was. Narrow corridors with checkpoints opened to rows of barracks and a few offices as well as a mess hall.

Miss Yi directed the other six men into a room that had some empty beds, but she held Jonny and Jim back. Mister Sokoloff went into the room with them, barking at them to choose their beds quickly and prepare to begin their shifts. Miss Yi continued down the hall.

"You are different," she said in English to Jim's surprise and Jonny's relief – acting as translator was only making him more nervous than he already was. "You have two enhanced senses each?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jim said politely.

"And smell is one of them?"

They both nodded.

"Then you will be better off in a room without those who are not as likely to make use of our bathing facilities," she answered with a dry smile. All the way at the other end of the floor she opened a door to a room with only four beds in it. "You will have roommates soon, I believe, when we finish our search for others such as yourselves."

Jim and Jonny were grateful beyond the telling of it for the privacy. They dumped their belongings quickly and returned to stand at attention before Miss Yi. While they waited for the others to join them, Jonny held still, staring straight ahead and not gazing around as he wanted to do, but his mind was elsewhere. The cormorant had vanished again.

"As you know," Miss Yi returned to speaking in Russian to the assembled men, "we have here a number of individuals who, for their own protection, of course, must be guarded carefully. Some of them are quite…unusual." She glared at the six men with no Sentinel abilities. "Do not give value to anything they say, but do not underestimate them. Even the most helpless seeming is devious and dangerous."

"You will begin at the highest levels and, if you prove to be competent, may work down in the lower floors soon," Mister Sokoloff said. "You will work in pairs at all times."

The next few minutes were a rush of chaos as a few more men arrived. The six new men were each paired with a senior guard, but Miss Yi told Jim he and Jonny would be working with her directly until they had gotten accustomed to things. This was a relief and a concern – a relief because she spoke English and spared Jonny having to keep translating, but a concern because clearly she was at least a partial Sentinel herself, and that meant they had to be aware of heightened scrutiny.

Mister Sokoloff began barking orders to his guards, sending them down a floor to begin their duties, but Miss Yi directed the elevator down to the fourth level below the surface.

"We must ensure there will be no complications with you and our guests," she said with a faint trace of amusement.

The elevator opened and Jonny thought his heart might stop altogether.

-==OOO==-

"You're going to have to sleep sometime, Benton," Race said. He slid into the chair beside his friend's, the whole tiny shelter echoing with the regular beeping of the equipment tracking the watches they had given to Jim and Jonny. Their "research station" a couple of islands over from the Providence installation was little more than an Arctic-reinforced trailer, but that suited them fine. They weren't here for luxury.

"Not until they've been in there the first 12 hours without incident," Benton shook his head. "That's the amount of time I think will pass before we can be truly certain that the ruse has worked."

"And after that?"

"If they are discovered, it means something else happened. They did something to draw the attention of the Providence people or were revealed because of some inconsistency with their back-stories."

"They're smarter than that, Doc," Race said reassuringly. "Jim's done undercover work before, and you know Jonny's got a poker face that could make a card shark nervous. They won't slip up."

"I'm not worried about mistakes," Benton shook his head. "I'm worried about them doing something unwise."

"Oh, come on. What are the chances of…?" Race began.

Benton glared at him. "Jim and Jonny are full Sentinels, Race, and they both identify other Sentinels as their tribe almost on sight for the most part. They're about to see a number of Sentinels – and we don't even know how many – who have been abducted and are possibly being hurt, used for experiments, anything we can imagine and probably something we haven't. It's _Jim_ and _Jonny_. Do you really think they'll be able to stand by for more than a week without trying to save someone?"

Race groaned. "Maybe I'll just make sure we're ready to go at a moment's notice."

-==OOO==-

Jim breathed out very slowly, using every ounce of self-control to stay placid and unaffected. Miss Yi was walking them through the floor, showing them the individual rooms lined with thick glass so that those within had absolutely no privacy. There were white noise generators every few yards, and the whole floor was sterile in the extreme. Jim nodded politely as he followed along, listening with half an ear to her instructions.

Inside, he was raging.

 _These are_ _people_ _! How dare you lock them up in cages like animals? Some of them look barely awake, practically comatose, and still you're using them for experiments!? And those who are awake are so frightened they actually reek of it. How_ _dare_ _you do this to Sentinels?_ _My_ _Sentinels?_

But the worst…the worst were the two cells at the end.

"These subjects were acquired from mental health hospitals in France and Egypt," she explained. "As they were of the proper age and largely healthy, they are ideal for our breeding program."

Jonny paled and tried to cover his disgust with a cough.

Miss Yi looked sharply at him. "This is an important scientific pursuit," she chided him. Then, she softened a bit. "But, if it makes you more comfortable, both were impregnated artificially. We feared for the viability of the results if violence was involved. Subject Zero Eight is not due for another two months, but Subject Zero Four is due sometime in the next two weeks."

Jonny didn't look any less sickened and Jim didn't blame him in the slightest. The two women were curled up on their rough cots, their bulging stomachs evidence of the success of the "experiment." One, pale as the moon, was rocking her belly and murmuring to it in a low tone – singing, Jim realized after a moment. Singing some kind of lullaby. The other, dark haired and skinned, the one she called Zero Four, was lying on her side, staring sightlessly at the wall.

Jim missed most of what Miss Yi was saying as he realized his jaguar and Jonny's fox had entered one of the rooms. Leaning against Zero Eight was a large brown rabbit, which looked up the instant the jaguar and fox crossed into its space. As Jim watched, the jaguar passed a thick tongue over the rabbit's head once as if in benediction, and the fox nuzzled it with a low whine. The rabbit visibly calmed and settled down.

When the two spirit animals passed into the other cell, there was a very different reaction.

"Bastards!" screamed the woman who had been utterly passive a moment before, though she did not move from the bed. Her words were heavily accented, but her command of English was clear. "Traitors! How can you do this to your own kind?!"

"Zero Four!" Miss Yi snapped, and the woman curled even more into herself. "Another outburst and you will find yourself in the deprivation tank for another six hours!"

Jim gulped. A Sentinel in a deprivation tank. It would be like hell.

"You must have a firm hand with some of them," Miss Yi was saying as she began to explain how the controls outside each cage could impact the Sentinel within.

Jim ignored her, watching the spirit animals instead. Zero Four's was some kind of brown, skunk-looking creature; Jim hoped Jonny knew something about it. The spirit animal was out in front of its Sentinel, hair raised and hissing. But Jonny's fox stepped in front of the jaguar and dropped to the ground in a clearly conciliatory manner, almost crawling. The thing hissed right up until Jonny's fox reached it. Then the fox slowly raised his muzzle and gently bumped the creature's nose. It was so surprised it stopped altogether, giving the fox a chance to drape his head over the animal's as if in a hug. When the fox stepped back, the skunk-thing approached the jaguar much more calmly, lifting its nose to smell. The jaguar calmly licked its head as well and the animal chittered in response.

Jim blinked. The pregnant Sentinel was staring at the animals now, and Jim knew somehow that she could see them. Her gaze rose slightly and she met his eyes. Jim felt like he had been punched by the power of her fear and despair.

He didn't consciously tell his jaguar to do anything, but he certainly didn't stop it when it lithely jumped up onto the bed and rubbed its head on the Sentinel, wuffling softly. The woman designated Zero Four closed her eyes and sighed as some tension drained out of her.

"Now," Miss Yi was saying, "since none of the individuals on this level reacted to you, we must continue with the remaining three floors. We've learned that we need to ensure your presence doesn't upset them under controlled circumstances."

Jim nodded and followed her back to the elevator. On the way, he took the chance to put a hand on Jonny's shoulder. The kid looked up to him, his face locked in a neutral expression, but Jim could see the torment in his eyes, the helplessness, and the fury.

 _There's no way_ , he decided right then and there. _There's no way we're just looking around for a week and getting out. We are taking these people out with us whatever it takes. That's a promise_.

-==OOO==-

Hadji was meditating, enjoying sitting on his favorite perch in the indigo jungle that was his most common retreat. His own heart might summon a savannah when it wished to communicate with him, but Hadji found the jungle restful, particularly this spot high on a tree like one he had slept in many times as a child when he wandered the edges of Calcutta.

The sound of a fox's long, sad howl suddenly echoed around him.

"Jonny!" he cried, flinging himself from the branch upon which he had sat and transforming into his tawny eagle. The eagle could fly easily now, its damage healed with Jonny far enough away, and Hadji put all speed possible towards driving him after the fox's cry.

Weaving and dodging through the forest, he came upon a broad clearing. Jonny's fox was circling frantically, racing back and forth as if being pursued. But it was what else filled the clearing that brought Hadji up short.

For the fox was surrounded by the forms of dead and dying animals. Dead and dying _spirit_ animals.

Hadji stared at the scene, absolutely certain he should not interfere, but unable to look away.

"What can it possibly mean?"

-==OOO==-

Several hours later, Jonny and Jim ate their food in the communal guard mess hall on their floor before pleading exhaustion and heading to their room. Once within, Jim held up a hand for silence. With several years of experience, he swept the room with his senses. As expected, there was a camera in the room, and probably a listening device as well.

He turned to Jonny. "I don't want to hear one word about how you feel," he said harshly.

Jonny blinked at him in surprise. "But…"

"We have a job to do here. You cannot let your feelings get the better of you. If you attempt to sympathize with the inmates, you will be fired." He stared at Jonny, willing the kid to understand.

Realization dawned in Jonny's eyes and he nodded. "You're right. This is what I signed up for."

"Exactly. So get with the program, kid."

"Do you think it would be okay to write a note to mom? Just to let her know that I got here okay? I'm doing this for her, you know."

Jim could have positively hugged Jonny. "I think that's all right, but I'm going to watch what you write. I won't have you endangering my position here by saying something or giving away what we're doing."

"I could help you write her a letter, too," Jonny offered. "Write down what you want to say and I can translate it."

"Sounds good," Jim nodded.

The two of them moved to the bed in the corner, the one they could both tell was where the camera was based. It would have the most limited view of them since it faced out into the rest of the room. Once there, Jonny dug around in his pack for a notebook and a couple of pencils and sat on the bed leaning against the wall almost completely out of sight of the camera.

Jim took the notebook and scribbled a few lines that absolutely fit their cover. Jonny dutifully wrote the lines out in Russian. Then he passed the notebook back for Jim to write more. They kept this up for a few minutes before Jim started the conversation differently.

 _We have to get these people out of here_.

Jonny wrote back in English, _Liberating more than thirty Sentinels is NOT in the plan. But I'm in We CAN'T leave them here_.

Jim smiled. _The hardest part will be getting them out_.

 _No_ , Jonny disagreed. _The hardest part will be getting the ones on the bottom to trust you_.

"Okay, let's work on yours now, kid," Jim said, buying himself some time to think about a response.

During the tour, they had learned that the more problematic the Sentinel was perceived to be, the farther down in the complex they were held. There were 10 Sentinels each on the third and fourth levels, 8 on the fifth, and 5 on the sixth. Most of those on the third and fourth levels were rather old and physically very weak or else occasionally lost in a dense and apparently pervasive zone-out. The only exceptions had been the two pregnant women, moved higher for ease of monitoring. The 8 Sentinels on the fifth level down were certainly conscious, but these were the ones with the most erratic senses, probably undiagnosed Sentinels or partial Sentinels kidnapped from the West. They had responded to Jim and Jonny fairly unpredictably, a few howling about seeing ghost animals, others proclaiming them demons. But Jim and Jonny could both smell the lingering trace of medicine around them and assumed they were simply being dosed too high. That could be fixed, but only with lots of time.

The 5 Sentinels being held on the very lowest level of the complex were another matter entirely. All five were clearly ex-military, with at least a basic command of their senses, and all five were resisting their captors with all their strength. Not one of the five had reacted to Jim and Jonny with welcome relief as had the woman referred to as Zero Four, but they clearly recognized something in the pair. They had, however, in their stubborn taunting of Miss Yi revealed that she was a partial Sentinel herself, and that her heightened senses were only touch and sight. That had been a real relief for Jim, who was worried about Yi hearing their heartbeats and reading their pace.

Jim wasn't sure if he could help the older, often-zoned Sentinels, and he wasn't sure _how_ to help the ones so hopped up on drugs they barely made sense even when knew they were seeing spirit animals, but Jonny was right. He wouldn't get anywhere with the five Sentinels on the bottom level unless he could convince them to trust him somehow.

Jim wondered if he might only be able to save the two pregnant women and instantly rejected the idea. _We all get out, or we die trying_.

He took back the pad from Jonny and wrote, _We've got a week, kid. I'm open to suggestions_.

Jonny grinned. _Good. Because I have an idea_.

Jim didn't have to wonder if he would regret this – he already had a funny feeling it didn't matter anyway.

-==OOO==-

"Okay, well, I guess that's it, then," Blair smiled brightly.

Yosyp looked up with surprise in his eyes. "I'm done?"

"You have endured all we could throw at you," Hadji commented. "While you may need practice with our techniques to make them second-nature, you have mastered them."

Yosyp grinned and started to sing some sort of triumphant tune in extremely loud Russian. He grabbed the wheels of his wheelchair – which he had been granted as soon as his Sentinel sickness had lifted with Jonny's separation, and he had gone zooming about the SELF lodge at top speed ever since – and spun an adept twirl. The many trinkets he'd affixed to the chair like a bird feathering a nest clinked and clanged along with his gleeful antics.

After two or three full turns, he abruptly stopped and winced.

"What is it?" Hadji asked. "Not hurt are you, my friend?"

"Oh, no," Yosyp waved his hands. "Apparently one of the others was not expecting my noise."

"Who?" Blair asked.

"Luka," Yosyp cringed.

Hadji and Blair exchanged glances. Luka was the tiniest person at the lodge, shorter than both of them, but with some of the keenest senses for hearing and taste. He and Ivanna had not worked together previously, as he had just been transferred to Russia in time to join the Sentinel ship, so it was only recently they had learned they shared a great passion – cooking. With Ivanna focusing on Guiding, Luka had taken over the kitchen, ordering everyone around as though he were the emperor, and his food was superb. Particularly when he indulged himself in preparing meals from his own homeland of Croatia, most of which were things no one else could pronounce, but everyone adored.

He was also known for having an irascible temper.

A few moments later, Simon came striding out of the lodge. " _Sandburg_!"

"Perhaps we had best retreat," Hadji said to Yosyp who nodded. The pair rushed off, Yosyp speeding in the chair and Hadji loping along beside him.

"Thanks a bunch, you guys," Blair muttered. A burst of laughter told him Yosyp had been listening.

"Sandburg!" Simon reached him. "What in blazes just set off Luka? He came tearing out of the kitchen bellowing about blown eardrums!"

"Even for a Sentinel he's exaggerating," Blair said. "Besides, he knows he is supposed to keep his hearing dialed to close to normal range if he isn't grounded to another sense to avoid zoning."

Simon glared and Blair shrugged. "Yosyp just passed his last test."

"Does that mean he's a full Sentinel?"

"He's _always_ been a full Sentinel," Blair rolled his eyes. "Now he has a lot more independent control over his senses. He's not at Jim's level yet, but he doesn't need to be coddled by the government program for the most part, either."

"Blair, that's great!" Simon smiled honestly. "And a week ahead of schedule, even."

"It helps that with that broken leg he hasn't had much to do but practice all day every day," Blair answered. "Plus, Hadji's been spending a lot of time with him."

"They do seem to get along, don't they?" Simon mused.

"Well, if you assume that the spirit animals have something to do with a Sentinel or Guide's basic personality, then it would make sense that the Sentinel with the fox spirit animal would be enough like Jonny to be a comfort to Hadji."

"Those two left off in a pretty rough place, didn't they?" Simon asked.

"No, I don't think so," Blair shook his head. "They were hurting, but they were still close, still on the same page." He smiled wryly. "I've been the opposite with Jim so many times, I can tell you the straight-up ache is way better."

"I'll take your word for it," Simon nodded. "So what happens now?"

"Well, as soon as we can get a flight arranged, Yosyp will fly back to Fokino. Dominik conveniently needs a desk sergeant in the city right now anyway, so that will give Yosyp somewhere to finish recovering that's really far away from Cascade."

"Sounds good," Simon approved.

"Any movement on Mark's case?" Blair asked after a moment.

"Nothing yet," the captain admitted. Then, "But don't worry, kid. They'll find him."

"I know," Blair answered. "Major Crimes always does."

Simon nodded and began to move off, deciding that it was the perfect time for a walk instead of going back inside to face Luka's wrath. Though that might end with him getting burned edge bits of the casserole for dinner.

Blair watched him go, his eyes roving over the area and the crowds of Sentinels out on the rare sunny spring day. Many of the Sentinels were working together in small groups, those not gathered around where Ivanna was holding court on the patio, and from the gestures, Blair surmised they were working on their senses. Everyone but Yosyp would have months before they'd get to where they needed to be before they could start deciding what to do next, but that was all right. Blair and Hadji and Ivan had proved to them all that control was _possible_.

Blair wondered at himself. Seventy Sentinels, all here eager to learn and share and add to their collective understanding of this most remarkable people. And he'd just set some kind of world record for teaching everything from the dials to meditation to how to see spirit animals to one, though Yosyp was clever and insightful and had worked tirelessly for 12- and 14-hour days since Jonny had left, not counting the hours of rationality whenever a Sentinel could get a game of "foxball" to work on _his_ fox.

It was a triumphant day. This was the culmination of all his dreams.

So why did Blair feel so anxious?

-==OOO==-

Jonny eased off his boots with a groan.

"Long day?" Jim asked sympathetically.

"Yeah," Jonny answered. "Roberto decided that the _only_ way to deal with his 'demons' was singing Spanish ballads at the top of his lungs. And we didn't get authorization to help him calm down so he just kept it up. _All day_."

Jim winced.

"And not only is he as tone-deaf as a walrus, he also sings notes I think only cats and maybe dying eels can reach." Jonny shuddered. "Plus, he kept forgetting words. I only know a tiny bit of Spanish, but I don't think there are a lot of ballads about _enchiladas_ and _papas fritas_ , so…"

In spite of everything, Jim laughed. "Roberto is definitely my favorite of the fivers."

"How about you?" Jonny asked. "How'd it go with the sixers?"

Jim shrugged. "Nothing to report."

"Oh. Want to work some more on your Cyrillic?" Jonny asked.

Jim nodded. "Sure."

It had become a perfect ruse. While Jonny _did_ spend some time teaching Jim Russian, both the language and the writing, it had also given them a plausible recurring activity to cover their actual work – communicating in a combination of writing on the notebook and a few whispered words of Chopec. Jonny and Jim both had a talent for languages, so they were picking things up quickly. If they had another month in this place, both would probably become genuinely conversant in either language.

They'd been in place almost a week and so far everything seemed to be going fine. They'd been given separate duties once it became known that Jonny was "intimidated" by the sixers – the Sentinels on the sixth level down – a ruse they invented that worked well to their purposes. It gave Jim a lot more time alone down there to get the Sentinels to trust him, and Jonny had become something of a general errand boy, running about the complex at anyone's whim but also trusted to keep a sharper eye on the prisoners. It was amazing how only five or six days in a place could make a person almost forget they'd ever lived anywhere else, but both Sentinels had one another – and their true purpose – to keep them focused on their mission.

In a matter of days, they had learned certain critical things:

First, these were not the only Sentinels being held by Providence Partners Interglobal. They had heard discussion of other locations as well as vague reference to "The Doctor" whom they assumed was the head of the organization. This outpost was primarily for the study of Sentinels considered too dangerous or too unstable or too useless to use in other ways.

Secondly, "other ways" appeared to mean, specifically, a type of mental and sensory testing that went beyond anything either could have imagined. Each Sentinel had periods in the laboratory with no other witnesses, and afterwards, most of the Sentinels returned to their cells were placid, shaky, and withdrawn, even the most robust and furious of them. All but the two pregnant women, that is. Apparently the hormones present during pregnancy brought out a Sentinel's true nature more than usual and made them unsuitable subjects.

Thirdly, for all that Miss Yi appeared to be a partial Sentinel herself, she knew very, very little about Sentinels the way Jonny and Jim did. Besides her total ignorance about the spirit animals – in fact, they were certain now she could not perceive them at all after Jonny's fox had one day impudently climbed up into her lap and tried biting her chin to no effect – she was woefully under-informed as to the true limits of a Sentinel's abilities. Even on the sixth floor, Miss Yi did not seem to realize that every Sentinel on the floor could hear her if she did not screen herself with a white noise generator. And with practice, Jim and Jonny were discovering that they could listen around the white noise generators more and more, meaning her snide comments were less private than ever. Her careless attitude towards the lives of the prisoners, and particularly the two women on the third floor who were pregnant, had made her abjectly _hated_ by all five sixers.

Finally, both Jim and Jonny felt absolutely sure there was something wrong with the installation itself, like a leak in the seal above, but they couldn't pinpoint it. And neither could ask because it was something they could more hear or feel than see. Jim described it once as if they were looking at a stained-glass window, but one uncolored pane of glass was missing – you didn't notice it until you could hear the wind in the gap that shouldn't be there. It made both Jim and Jonny feel very, very unsettled, because they both _knew_ something was wrong, but had no idea what.

Jonny began the Russian lesson as always, but somewhere in the middle of the Cyrillic he wrote, _Hasna's getting awfully close. Matter of days_.

Hasna was the proper name of the person they were otherwise forced to refer to as "Zero Four." Jim and Jonny had gotten enough access to patient records to at least put names with people instead of referring to them by numbers. The other pregnant woman was Emeline. They'd also figured out, thanks to one of Jonny's adventures in Africa, that Hasna's spirit animal was a striped polecat, which Jonny said made sense even if he didn't have the time to explain the whole story behind why. Jim had commented that he still thought it looked like a skunk and Jonny had agreed – he'd been sprayed by one, which was how he finally remembered it.

 _That's not good_ , Jim wrote back. _But I think old Yuri on 6 is wise to me. He told the others to stop hassling me, and his stupid tiger stopped trying to claw me today_.

 _Is he on our side_? Jonny wanted to know.

 _I think so. Except_

 _Except what_?

 _I think I'm going to have to fight him before he'll go with us,_ Jim wrote after an annoyed moment _. He's top Sentinel around here except for me. I'm going to have to beat him or he won't listen to me._

Jonny rolled his eyes. _Fantastic. It should be a_ _cinch_ _to somehow arrange some kind of fist fight between you two without breaking our cover or getting him killed_.

 _Tell me about it_.

-==OOO==-

Blair snapped out of the dream gasping for breath.

"Oh man," he ran a hand through his hair trying to get his heart to beat normally. "What _is_ that?"

He needn't have asked. It was the same dream he'd been having the last three nights, always the same. Always of a jaguar bleeding, lost, in pain. _His_ jaguar.

 _I wish Jim would have taken his cell phone on the trip_ , Blair thought to himself. _Maybe this is a Guide thing, but it could just as easily be me and my overactive subconscious worried about the Sentinels here and not that something happening to Jim_.

Even as he thought it, though, he didn't totally believe it.

Before he could do anything else, there was an insistent knocking on his door. "Yeah! Hang on a sec!" he yelled.

Tipping out of bed, Blair grabbed a sweatshirt and yanked it over his head, not bothering to change out of the thick flannel pants he wore for sleeping at the lodge. It wouldn't have been the first time a distressed Sentinel had come to the door in the middle of the night with a problem. As he turned the doorknob, he flicked on the lights in the apartment.

"Hadji?" Blair blinked against spots in his eyes from turning on his light too soon.

"Jonny is in danger," Hadji said without preamble. "I am going after him."


	7. Chapter 7

Guides to the rescue! Also known as the Blair and Hadji can be badass chapter.

I will note that there's something of a time-skip that's going to go on here. The hours or even a couple of days it will take Blair and Hadji to get from Cascade to where they end up are necessary because that's time where a lot will happen to Jim and Jonny during the same period. But you'll have to wait for next week to see that half of the equation.

This chapter is not the first indication of our bigger meta plot that's been in the works since Chapter 1 of Arc 1, but it's the biggest one. Those who know JQ:TRA or the original Jonny Quest, time for an old friend to stop by. Or, at least someone connected to him. You get a cookie if you can spot the hint in the previous chapter, though.

Also, I'm slightly adjusting my schedule of posting next week. By the normal pattern, Chapter 8 would go up on Thursday. But Thursday I will be at CONvergence in MN and nowhere near a computer. So I'll put up Chapter 8 before I go on Wednesday. Sound okay? If you happen to be at CONvergence, send me a message or a review or something and we should meet up!

Enjoy!

* * *

"Wait, what?" Blair shook his head hoping to clear some sleep out of his ears. "Say that again."

"My meditations of late have been troubled, and now I have had a dream that is clear beyond the telling of it," Hadji said impatiently. "Jonny is in danger. Jim also. I must go to them."

"Hadj, what are you talking about? They're fishing with Benton and Race," Blair said reasonably.

Hadji frowned. "They are not. It was a lie."

"And you know this…how exactly?"

Hadji strode into the room. "IRIS," he addressed the air. "Verbal access. Identify: Hadji Singh Quest."

"Hadji Singh Quest identified," a warm feminine voice sounded in the room. "How may I be of help?"

"Activate full noise protection for these quarters, maximum level."

"Activated," she answered.

"So we can't be overheard, though I am certain none are awake to hear," he explained to Blair. Then he turned back to look vaguely at the ceiling. "Current whereabouts of Jonny Quest?"

"Error. I'm sorry. I can't tell you that. Nya-nya." This last was in the exact teasing tone common to six-year-olds on a playground.

Blair blinked at Hadji. Hadji nodded. "Proof indeed. IRIS should be able to locate Jonny anywhere – unless Doctor Quest or Race specifically locked their location down to prevent it."

"Sure, but…'nya-nya'?"

Hadji sighed. "Jonny often hacks IRIS's voice programs to leave little messages for us. We are lucky it was not a long and involved moose call or any such thing."

"I could provide one if required," IRIS offered.

"No thank you," Hadji said firmly.

"So how do we find them?" Blair asked. The yucky feeling of impending trouble that had haunted him as well for a few days was only getting stronger.

"Simple. By process of elimination," Hadji answered. Then he began rapid-firing questions at IRIS, asking for the location of Jim Ellison, then Doctor Benton Quest, then Race Bannon. When all came back as errors, he got more creative. He asked about the Dragonfly, the Questor, several other Quest vehicles Blair had never even heard of, even Jonny's laptop.

At last he seized upon the answer. "IRIS, identify most recent flight plan for the Dragonfly."

"Working," the voice responded. "Data available. Where shall I display it?"

"The television will do, thank you," Hadji said politely.

"Don't you guys trick everybody by filing all kinds of false flight plans?" Blair asked. "Something about security?"

"Of course," Hadji answered calmly. "However, while we might file false flight plans to other agencies through the particular loophole made available to our family, IRIS always records the actual flight plan as well as any deviations in order to ensure we can accurately track it in the case of an emergency."

"I guess that makes sense," Blair nodded. "You might tell an air traffic control tower you're flying to Palm Key, but if the jet goes down, you want to know that you should be looking over Vermont to find it."

"Precisely."

The television lit up with a map of the world. A green dot appeared over Cascade, and a long green line arced from there virtually straight up, eventually emerging over the Arctic Circle just north of Norway and Russia.

"IRIS, enhance destination," Hadji ordered.

The screen zoomed in to show that the plane had made an interesting sort of loop around a particular area before stopping finally at Murmansk.

"They must have taken a different vehicle back to the area the Dragonfly circled," Hadji said. "The jet is impractical for landing in such a desolate area if there is no proper airfield."

"They could be fishing," Blair offered. "Like they said. Just, I dunno…cold-water fishing?"

Hadji turned to face his friend fully. "Do you truly believe that?"

Blair sighed. "No. Not for a minute. But why would they lie to us?"

"You know the answer to that as well."

This time Blair's face contorted in anger as realization dawned. "That _jerk_! That over-protective _throwback_!" He started to pace. "I thought we were partners!"

"We are," Hadji said. "Let us go and prove it to them. Assuming you wish to join me?"

Blair met his eyes with an eager, determined look. "Oh yeah. I'm in." Then, with conviction, "Our stupid Sentinels need us."

-==OOO==-

"The advantage," Blair grinned at Hadji with glee later, "is that nobody ever expects _you_ to be up to something."

"In their defense," Hadji replied, "our friends in Cascade do not know me well. And if Jessie were not so distracted, she would not have been as easily fooled."

Blair had known he would have been immediately suspect if he had done anything out of the ordinary, given that Simon and Joel were well aware of his penchant for getting himself into trouble, usually specifically where Jim had told him _not_ to be. So they had done a solid bait-and-switch. As Hadji and Blair had no way of knowing who was in on whatever their Sentinels were up to, they assumed they could trust no one with the truth of their plans.

So Hadji had gone down to breakfast that morning allowing his exhaustion to leak through his normally stoic comportment. It was Jessie who had remarked on it.

"Hadj, you look terrible," she'd said with a frown. "Are you sleeping?"

"Not well," he had admitted honestly. "My dreams are…somewhat disturbed."

All the Sentinels in the immediate vicinity had pounced on this statement, worrying over him. Blair and Hadji had been told by Ivanna that Sentinels tended to take the welfare of Guides quite seriously, often too seriously in her opinion. The fact that this conversation happened after the hour Ivanna herself usually rose to eat a dawn breakfast alone with Luka and Dmitri and a few other truly early risers before beginning her day was not an accident. It left them with a crowd of Sentinels to cause a fuss and the remaining Guide unavailable to question it.

Simon had not been staying over at the lodge, but Joel had, and he tried to assert some order. "Stop crowding him," he'd ordered, interposing himself to keep twenty or so Sentinels from jockeying to get as close to Hadji as possible to inspect him.

At that moment, Blair had appeared.

"Hadj? You okay?" he'd asked.

"My inability to rest is troubling me," he admitted.

Blair had nodded solemnly. "You've been under a lot of pressure. We both have. I imagine your subconscious has started to associate this place with your frame of mind, and now even though Yosyp is fine, you still feel anxious when you're here. We need to break that cycle."

"How do you do that?" Joel asked.

It was Jessie who had provided the answer. "You should get out of here. Don't go too far, but just, you know, take the rest of this week and spend it somewhere quieter. We can manage things here without you for a few days. And then when you feel better, you can come back and be comfortable here again."

"But…" Hadji had started.

"It's a good idea," Joel had said. "You both look more antsy than a pair of dogs with fleas. Blair, you've got that retreat not far from here. Would they take you in on so little notice?"

"Oh, yeah," Blair had nodded, smiling at Joel's mixed metaphor – and the opening he'd given them. "But, you know, there's no internet or anything up there. Not even good cell phone reception."

"It's all right," Jessie assured them. "If something happens, you won't be where we can't reach you via a landline."

The Sentinels gathered around them had started protesting – ardently – that they would ensure nothing happened that would keep the pair of Guides who had done so much for Yosyp from recovering their strength. After that, the planning was largely taken out of their hands.

Except for the part where they were dropped at the pickup for Brother Jeremy's monastery and were met by a cab instead of the little bus. Without being able to put in a call to Agent Fritz to just magically remake the world for them, Blair and Hadji had had to get downright devious about their next steps. But it helped that Hadji had been on more than one trip to the Arctic with the Quests and remembered a few friends in the area and tricks for getting around. Blair and Hadji had bought a series of airline tickets to carry them as far north and east as they could go, buying supplies on the way and finally landing at Alert, Nunavut in Canada. The outpost – it wasn't really a town or a city – was a regular stop for the military as well as weather specialists.

At that point, things had gotten trickier. They couldn't set off across the North Pole alone – neither was trained for it and they didn't have the time anyway. But if there was one thing Hadji had learned from his experiences in the area, it was that it was a very, very small global community that lived and worked at the top of the world. Within a few hours, Hadji had located someone who remembered him and knew Doctor Quest. Blair had introduced himself and provided his SELF credentials to confirm that they both had a legitimate tie to the doctor. As it happened, one of the researchers on a joint Canada-Norway team needed to do a flyover of a polar bear habitat that would bring them within range of Murmansk, close enough that she could adjust her flight plan to refuel there rather than her original destination without too much trouble. Hadji had offered to serve as co-pilot for the expedition and they were off.

As they got closer and closer to where their Sentinels should be, both Blair and Hadji became more certain that something was wrong. It wasn't that they were even necessarily picking up something from their Sentinels directly – it was more like that instinctive _something's wrong_ feeling was getting deeper. As if their Sentinels were barreling into even more danger as the hours went by.

It took some doing, but between Blair's DHS badge, Hadji's name and passport, a couple of quick bribes, and some very clever obfuscation, they entered Russia more-or-less legally and started the real investigation. Hadji had tracked the Dragonfly as far as the city, but after that it meant digging for a transaction showing a rental or purchase of some other vehicle. He had begun the search from Cascade, but Doctor Quest had scrubbed his trail within the Quest system well.

Which is how Blair and Hadji wound up deciding their best bet was to charter a helicopter flight and head out in the direction their instincts told them was correct to see what they could find while Hadji's program inside the Quest system ran its searches. It was a long-shot, for sure, but it was better than sitting around waiting for another day when they'd already come so far.

As they prepared to board the helicopter, however, Hadji balked. He actually stopped on the tarmac and set down his bag as if looking for something. Blair paused and turned to him.

"What is it?"

"Something is wrong," Hadji said in a low voice.

"What, besides trying to find Benton somewhere within a couple thousand miles?" Blair asked with some annoyance. At the serious expression in Hadji's face, he backed down. "Trouble?"

"Trouble," Hadji affirmed. "I advise we walk away right now."

That was all the urging Blair needed. He shouldered his own bag and started creatively obfuscating his way out of the situation, never looking back at the helicopter whose rotors were still whirring in anticipation. Blair was fairly sure he'd never talked that fast in his life, but he somehow got away without anyone being suspicious that the delay was anything but a forgotten item.

Blair and Hadji jumped in a cab to go back to the hotel where they had set up for a few days. "What was it?" Blair asked softly.

"I do not know," Hadji shook his head. "Only a sense of extreme ill will."

"Good enough for me," Blair had said. "So now what?"

"I have a new thought," Hadji said. "Clearly our friends are not here on a whim. They must be investigating something quite dangerous."

"So if we can figure out what it is, we'll be able to find them," Blair finished. "All right!"

In the dingy hotel room, Blair and Hadji set in for some serious research. It was something at which they both excelled, and given the remote area and the fairly specific sort of problem that would have drawn the two Sentinels plus Doctor Quest and Race, they had their answers before midnight local time.

"There's a newer research installation for a company called Providence Partners Interglobal," Blair said. "But I checked all the resources I could and they don't really seem to be in the oil business."

"Additionally, they appear to be hiring," Hadji noted, looking over his shoulder.

"That explains it perfectly. The guys go in there to see what Providence is up to, assuming it's to do with Sentinels," Blair bounced on the ratty bed. "Benton would stay on the outside to monitor them. And it's exactly the sort of mission they wouldn't want me to know about."

"Us," Hadji corrected him idly. "I think you are correct. There is nothing else in this region that is out of place, and we both sensed the greatest danger north of here, not south. There is not a great deal north of here until we are back in Canada again."

"So how do we get out there? And what do we do when we get there?"

Suddenly the room's window was broken as a canister came flying through it.

"Gas!" Hadji cried, pulling a portion of his sweater up to cover his nose. But he and Blair both began to cough at the thick, pungent clouds that made their eyes water even as their vision blurred from a sharp disorientation and dizziness.

Blair stumbled for the door, but he only made it a few steps before dropping to his knees, coughing weakly.

Hadji, having mastered techniques of suppressed, internal breathing many years prior, had only a little more time to choose a course of action before rendered helpless, so he did the only thing he could do – he dropped his hands from protecting his face. Typing rapidly, he locked his and Blair's access to SELF, the Quest network, and the US government so that they could not be used to breach it without an override from Doctor Quest himself. The act would also set off an alert in the Quest system for Doctor Quest to find. Then he flipped both laptops over and revealed the built-in secret chamber next to the battery. Each had a release that would cause the computer to fry, wiping it beyond recovery. He hit the release just as lack of oxygen drew him down into darkness.

-==OOO==-

Blair opened his eyes to find himself in a very cold, dark room. He was handcuffed with his arms through the slats of a chair beside Hadji.

"Hadji! Hadji, wake up!" he hissed urgently. It took several minutes and Blair reaching out with a foot to smack the side of Hadji's chair a few times before his friend began to stir.

"You okay?" he asked.

Hadji coughed. "As well as can be expected, I suppose," he said, sounding very collected in spite of their circumstances. "How are you?"

"Oh, fine. Great, even. Neck deep in the Sandburg Zone, I guess."

"Apparently," Hadji said with a slight smile, "we were not incorrect in our supposition that the others are in trouble. Were they not, certainly we would not be here. Therefore, we are clearly where we need to be in order to lend assistance. I imagine they are not in much better surroundings than we."

"Some rescue _this_ is," Blair complained, pulling at the handcuffs. He'd managed to wrench his shoulders into a slightly less uncomfortable position, but otherwise the chair held firm.

"From every failure must come some greater wisdom," Hadji said.

"You know, I'm all for your sayings, but this time I really don't see how that helps us."

"It doesn't, I admit," Hadji shrugged, "but at this point I will take even an imagined benefit over none at all."

There was a sound at the door and it swung open, flooding the room with light. Both Guides flinched at the sudden glare.

"We meet again, Hadji," came the sultry voice of a woman.

" _Anaya_."

Blair blinked and turned towards his friend. Despite everything they had gone through together, never had he heard Hadji's tone go so cold. He sounded...hateful.

"It's been so long. I'm so pleased you've remembered me. It was so very kind of you to alert us to your presence by renting that helicopter, even if you did abandon it before our pilot could retrieve you for us."

Blair finally got his eyes to adjust to the light and was able to get a good look at their captors. Standing before them were two extremely attractive women, identical twins right down to their waist-length black hair and predatory expressions. Blair looked at them a little more closely – the structures of their faces and their coloring were certainly Asian, but there was something in the exact set of their eyes and cheekbones and jaws that was a little more recognizable...

"Mongol," he identified with a sudden flash of terror. "Oh god."

"It's a pleasure to meet you at last, Doctor Sandburg," the one not leering at Hadji said, sliding closer to him. "I am Melana, one of the daughters of the illustrious Doctor Zin."

"Zin? Never heard of him," Blair said blithely. Inside, his mind was racing. _Mongol blood. And they're both tipping their heads ever so slightly and oh god. They're Sentinels. I just know it – I can feel it._

"He is an _evil_ man," Hadji said beside him, staring at Anaya as though he could wither her to nothing with his glare. "He has spent a lifetime attempting to destroy everything we would build. And I have lost track of the number of times he has almost destroyed my family as well."

"Yes, our father has found you Quests to be annoyingly persistent," Anaya said. "But as you often like to say, my dear Hadji, there is reason for all that occurs."

Melana smiled. "For if we had succeeded in destroying you years ago, you would not now be here to help us, _Guide_."

" _No_ ," Blair snapped sharply. "There's no way we'll _ever_ be Guides to you." It wasn't confident banter or even resistance. It was pure truth.

"We'll give you a choice," Anaya said, still staring at Hadji in a way that made Blair increasingly worried about his friend's future and safety. "Serve us as Guides, or we'll pass orders that will reveal your precious Jonny Quest as a spy. I'm sure you can imagine how he will be _dealt with_ by the people in that barbaric place."

"You have one hour to decide." Melana stated, turning to leave

Anaya waited, though, and leaned close to Hadji, drawing a long finger along his cheek. "Your fate at my side _could_ be wonderful, Hadji. How you spend it is up to you." Hadji stared straight ahead as if she were not even there, even when she bent to kiss him.

"Leave him alone!" Blair shouted, overwhelmed with revulsion and more than a little fear.

Anaya rose, backhanded Blair sharply, and tossed her hair. "Choose well, my dear Hadji." Only then did she sweep from the room, the door swinging shut behind her.

Hadji spat on the floor with deep disgust. "This...is not good," he said after a moment.

"Do I even want to know how you met those psychos?" Blair asked as he tipped his head to try to get the ringing blow out of his ears.

"Oh," his friend turned to him with a slight smile, though Blair could see the very real dread behind his eyes. "The usual way a young man meets such a person. She attempted to use me to kill my family and steal a very great treasure for her father."

"Yeah, well, it looks like you made quite the impression."

Hadji spat again. "So did she."

"Hadji, did you notice—?"

"Not here," his friend cut him off. He nodded towards the door. Yes, of course Blair understood. There was no knowing if either Sentinel was listening, but it was more than likely.

"I get it," Blair nodded. Taking a deep breath, he let his eyes slide closed.

They met in the jungle.

The wolf could smell predators nearby, and he growled at the noxious scent. Then came the familiar eagle who circled him once in the warm air before winging off into the trees. The wolf loped easily after it, pleased to put some distance between himself and the creatures that smelled sour and dangerous; he did not know precisely where the eagle led, but he was content to follow one who could see so much farther in this world. At the base of an ancient building, the eagle dropped to a protruding stone a bit above a man's height on the broad doorway. Then the form shifted until Hadji sat, his feet swinging above the ground.

The wolf ran up the steps and willed himself to become his other self. Blair blinked.

"This is the Temple of Light. How did you know how to find it?"

"Ever since my joining with Jonny, I have seen this place many times in my dreams and meditations and visions," he answered, shrugging.

Blair looked around a little more closely. "No, wait. It's not quite the Temple I know from Mexico. It's...different somehow." His eyes roved over the symbols on the walls. "This Temple...it isn't just for Sentinels. It's also for Guides."

"A fascinating discussion for another time, I am sure," Hadji said, dropping to stand on the broad step himself. "For now, we have much bigger problems."

"Right," Blair shook himself.

"I have seen their spirit animals," Hadji said. "I believe they are two similar species of stoats. There was also a wolverine nearby, which I presume represents their father."

"Is he a Sentinel too?" Blair's eyes widened.

"No," Hadji shook his head. "I cannot believe so. I have only met Doctor Zin once or twice but he was no more perceptive than any other man, and I do not get the same sense from the wolverine that I do from the Sentinels of our acquaintance."

"He could be a partial Sentinel," Blair considered. "It does run genetically."

"Doctor Zin has long boasted that he is directly descended from Genghis Khan himself." Hadji rubbed his nose. "I suppose it appears to be true."

"Dmitri once told me Khan is legendary for siring the strongest of all known Sentinel bloodlines," Blair groaned. "Of _course_. And his daughters are full Sentinels, because we needed more trouble, obviously. This is fantastic."

"You were saying something before I prevented you when we were in that room," Hadji said, cutting off Blair's rant.

"Oh! Right! Well, they threatened us with revealing Jonny being undercover, right?" Blair said. Before Hadji could answer, he rushed on. "They _only_ said Jonny."

"Had they known of Jim's presence, they would have used him against us as well," Hadji realized. "Either they do not yet know he is also involved, or they have failed to identify him as your Sentinel."

"Given the whole dissertation fiasco, they probably know all about Jim as my Sentinel," Blair pointed out, "but somehow they don't know he's at that place doing whatever they're doing yet. It could be our only shot."

"Not our _only_ shot," Hadji shook his head. "We have two other advantages over our opponents." At Blair's expression, Hadji smiled slightly. "First, they cannot control nor comprehend this aspect of a Guide's true work. If they did, they would never have permitted us to meditate. Also, in my experience, Doctor Zin is far too linear and literal-minded to believe in any such thing as this. We have the full scope of our combined metaphysical might that we may bring to bear against them."

"True," Blair acknowledged. "I wonder what happens if we give them a few scratches out here." He started to feel some real hope. "Plus, we might be able to communicate with Jim and Jonny."

"Precisely." Hadji's smile dimmed a bit. "Secondly, because they wish us to serve as Guides, they must leave us alive and largely functional." He convulsively swallowed. "It does not mean, however, that they cannot make our lives utterly miserable if we continue to refuse them."

"We could always pretend to agree," Blair offered. "Obviously we can't bond with them in any meaningful way, and we wouldn't want to help them too much, but it might be better than..."

" _No_."

Blair blinked at the ferocity of Hadji's refusal. "You heard that girl, Hadj. She seems..."

"I know _exactly_ what she is," Hadji answered, his dark eyes cuttingly cold. "And I have no small idea what to expect from her. But still, my answer is no. I would rather suffer and die than betray myself, my mind, my gifts, and most of all, my Sentinel."

The Temple around them began to glow. Hadji was still speaking, somehow failing to notice.

"Even if she threatens me with Jonny's safety, I know he would rather join me in their punishment than bend my mind to the will of Zin or his daughters. I choose to trust in my Sentinel, and in yours, and wait for my opportunity to repay their courage with my own."

"Hadji..." Blair could actually feel heat radiating off the stones of the Temple, and now various inscriptions and sigils were shining as though inscribed with pure light. But Hadji's eyes had shifted and he was looking far beyond Blair, beyond even this world of the soul. Blair could see the tawny eagle hovering within Hadji, its feathers beginning to glow as well.

"The Sentinel is the defender, explorer, and watcher over his people. And the Guide must therefore be the guardian of the people's spirits, their fate and rebirth and magic. Even in deception, if I bend any part of my will to evil, I will be handing those lives in my keeping over to the karma of that same evil. The Zins can only hurt and kill me. If I surrender any part of myself to them, they will gain power over my mind and soul, which belong only to myself and to my Sentinel."

There was a bright flash of light.

Suddenly Blair found himself back in his body on the hard wooden chair. He blinked the spots from his eyes, wondering how exactly he could have actual spots in his vision when the light had been in his mind. Beside him, Hadji stirred, groaning, before he reached up to rub at his temples.

"Hadji!" Blair said urgently.

"What?" It took him a moment to notice that his hands were no longer bound.

Hadji's eyes widened. Moving almost silently, Hadji dropped to one knee to retrieve the handcuffs from where they were piled on the floor. He held them up for Blair's inspection. In the dim light, Blair could see that the cuffs were...fine. Not broken, not bent, not malfunctioning in any way. Hadji even manipulated them to show that they should still close and latch correctly. It was as if they had simply opened of their own accord.

"My friend," he said softly, "I believe we are living in truly mysterious times."

"You don't know the half of it," Blair agreed, realizing that Hadji had no idea about all the glowing in the astral jungle. But this was not the time for that discussion. "Got a plan?"

Hadji nodded. He stood up and calmly walked to the door. When he didn't immediately return, Blair realized he was testing their guards, to see if any Sentinels were listening to them or if there was a camera in their cell; a Sentinel would be able to hear that one of the prisoners was free and either way they expected somebody would take action. But two minutes later, nothing had changed. Hadji smiled at Blair and returned to his side.

"If you will permit me one moment, my friend," he said softly as he knelt before Blair.

"Whatever you gotta do, man."

Hadji nodded and, with quick efficiency, pulled Blair's belt from around his waist. He folded back the frame of the buckle and began pulling at the prong, rocking it back and forth against the leather. In moments, he had snapped it free. Leaving the rest of the belt across Blair's knees, he knelt down behind him and began to work at the lock of the remaining pair of handcuffs with his improvised lock-pick. A few minutes later, Blair's wrists were free.

"You so owe me a new belt," Blair grumbled good-naturedly as he pulled the belt back through his pants and cinched it as tightly as he could, oddly knotting it around itself to affix it. "Good thing I don't wear one of those stiff flat ones."

"Race has long maintained that I ought to wear one myself for just this reason," Hadji commented, gathering up the two pairs of handcuffs, "but I have limited patience for them. Besides, they often prove to impair me in other ways."

"Tell me about it!" Blair smiled. "Hard to meditate with something cutting into your middle." He turned towards the door.

"So, now what?"

"Now we turn the tables," Hadji smiled darkly. He returned to the door and tested the knob. It was locked. "Do you feel able to give me a boost?"

"Hadj, you can climb on my back if it'll get us out of here before those women come back."

Hadji studied the ceiling tiles for a moment before he pointed to one. "There. If this building is built as I suspect, I should be able to gain access into the crawlspace through there."

"Your life is way more exciting than mine if you can tell that by just looking," Blair muttered, "but if you're right, I want you to teach me, okay?"

"You have a deal, my friend."

Blair laced his fingers together and crouched. Hadji stepped into his waiting grip and they both pushed off at the same time. Hadji popped up through the flimsy material in the ceiling and grabbed onto the metal supports that would hold his weight. With a shove, he pulled his legs up after him. Peeking upside out the hole he had created, he said softly, "Please wait by the door. I should be back momentarily."

"Oh, great," Blair shrugged. "Yeah, I'll just, you know, wait here."

For a few minutes, he shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, not quite sure what he was waiting for. Then the lock clicked and he stepped back, readying himself for anything.

Except maybe Hadji unlocking the door with one hand while holding a limp guard over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. A bright smile lit his face. "I believe you ordered this to go?"

"That's it," Blair decided as he helped Hadji ease the unconscious man into one of their abandoned chairs. "I'm taking lessons from Race as soon as we get home."

"A wise idea," Hadji agreed. Using one of the sets of handcuffs, he secured the man. "There is another unconscious guard just outside. If we leave two of them here, our illusion will survive a bit longer."

Shaking his head, Blair retrieved the guard from a crumpled heap on the floor and dragged him in, shoving him not too gently into the other chair before handcuffing him and gagging him with his own scarf. In moments, the two guards had finished filling in for them as prisoners and they were out the door, armed with the men's sets of keys and weapons and heavy coats and hats.

"What, no tank?" Blair asked as they crept around a corner. "You didn't already take out half the base and replace the security system with cream cheese or something?"

"I am trained in the arts of hand-to-hand combat, computer engineering and programming, and certain simple tasks such as lock-picking and infiltration. Cream cheese is not in my wheelhouse," Hadji snarked back with a straight face. "But, by all means, suggest it to Race as part of a new training regimen when we get back."

Together, they began navigating their enemy's territory.

-==OOO==-

"Think Blair and Hadji are having a good time away?" Simon asked Joel as they walked back to Simon's car after a dinner out.

"I hope so," Joel said sincerely. "Hadji especially looked like he needed it."

"I'm sorry to get you caught up in all this insanity," Simon said.

"Don't be," Joel shook his head staunchly. At Simon's expression, he smiled. "Blair told me about how Sentinels claim tribes for themselves, and how he and Jim and the Quests all kind of think of everybody in SELF as an extended family, right?"

Simon nodded.

"Well, to be honest, all I wanted was to be a part of that. You and Jim, you've been close these last few years, and obviously Blair's his best friend. But…I like Blair. I always have. I just wanted to be part of things, however strange they were. And Hadji and Jessie and Jonny, they're good kids, too."

Simon reflected that Joel was still a bachelor in spite of his age, childless, and his only sibling, a sister, had died a few years past. Simon tended to be comfortable with his lack of family except for Daryl, but he was also less innately social. He felt suddenly guilty for leaving Joel out in the cold for so long.

"Well, we're all mighty glad to have you," Simon said warmly. "You've got the patience of a saint, Joel, and don't think I don't know you've been taking some heat off me and Sandburg lately."

"It's the least I can do," Joel shrugged. "What you're doing, what _we're_ doing is so incredible. _They_ are so incredible," he smiled. "I see why Jim and Blair and Benton want to give their lives to looking out for Sentinels and their Guides. It's really worth it. It really is."

"You know?" Simon said softly. "I agree with you. Even if it comes with more trouble than it's worth sometimes, it seems."

He'd just finished saying that when his phone rang. He looked at the caller. "Oh, don't even tell me we're doing this again!" he snapped. He took the call. "Simon Banks."

"Simon, I need your help!" came Jessie's voice.

"What happened this time?" he demanded.

"Well, it's not _my_ fault you're the only person I can call for help! Next time I'll call Joel first," Jessie said sharply.

Simon was immediately sorry. "No, you should call me, Jessie. I didn't…never mind. Talk to me."

"We've got a major problem. Six Sentinels have gone missing!"


	8. Chapter 8

Technically this is a day early, but I won't be around to post tomorrow because I'll be at CONvergence in MN. Anybody gonna be there? Message me or leave a review or something and I'll find you!

Enjoy!

* * *

In the end, Jonny's plan seemed to work out okay. Jim had expected something more elaborate, frankly.

Every few days, each Sentinel was taken to the second level down from the surface for the mysterious testing – Jim only knew what he picked up from listening to the Sentinels grumble afterwards because Miss Yi employed a bank of white noise machines during each session. Jim had been ordered to take over some duties escorting a few different Sentinels on their trips up the elevator. He would wait outside the room for the hour or two of the session, then escort the Sentinel back down, usually with another guard for backup. The schedule was totally irregular, as were all the guard shifts, so a session could be in the middle of the night or dawn or anything else – Jim hadn't had any chance to acclimate to the timezone to start with, and the strangely-oriented days just made him more annoyed with the whole situation. However, because they were so irregular, it was not too long until Yuri was summoned to a session again. When it happened, Jonny arranged to be his backup.

On the elevator after the session, Jim swept his senses over the captive Sentinel. Yuri was a barrel-chested man with thick black hair and a full beard covering his face, not greying at all in spite of the fact that the man looked older than Benton. In the days Jim had been serving as one of his keepers, he had noticed that Yuri seemed to be getting more erratic, more upset as time went on. That could just as easily have been the cumulative impact of whatever Miss Yi was doing. His sessions always seemed to be the most brutal, and this time it took several minutes before he had stopped himself from trembling and could return to staring resolutely ahead as though he were not the one cuffed and chained like an animal.

Jim let out a long breath, willing his jaguar to appear. The freight elevator was fairly large, half the size of a boxcar, so there was plenty of room for it to circle before them. An instant later, the tiger blinked into existence. Both big cats regarded one another warily.

Jonny's fox shimmered into view as well, and it began to act. It rubbed against Jonny first, then Jim, and then against Yuri, who watched it carefully. Then the fox head-butted the jaguar familiarly before crossing the space to the tiger. When the tiger did not move right away, the fox leaned against its side for a moment. Then it moved away and sat down between them, cocking its head to one side. Its expression was eloquent: _Well? You going to do this or not?_

Yuri suddenly smiled.

The elevator reached the sixth floor. Jonny, his fox at his heels, trotted out first, quickly finding the guard who sat at this end of the floor and distracting him. Jim led Yuri along as always, unlocking the chains when they reached the door to Yuri's cell. The other four Sentinels were silent, watching closely. Normally Jim would have unclicked the lock on the cuffs and shoved Yuri inside to pull them off himself, putting them on before the door would be opened the next time. But today, Jim unlocked the cuffs and paused.

Yuri ripped his hands from their bonds and spun in a swift attack.

Jim knew they would only have a few seconds for this at the most. There were security cameras all through the area, and it wouldn't take long for someone to come running to help subdue Yuri. Jim had to prove himself in only an instant.

He met Yuri's rushing fist with a swift block, landing a punch of his own. He followed through with the strike so that when Yuri made his own block Jim's whole weight was behind it, crashing them both into the glass partition. Yuri grunted and kicked out, but Jim had the advantage. He managed to pin Yuri just as a guard and Jonny came around the corner, both yelling. Yuri shoved back against Jim once before falling still.

"First blood," Yuri said in his deep voice, speaking in English. Jim nodded – he'd split Yuri's lip with his punch, but Yuri hadn't landed a hit hard enough to draw blood.

Yuri allowed himself to be wrestled by the other guard and Jim into his cell and the door locked. As more guards came down the hall in response to the commotion, Jonny suggested to the other guard that he call off the alert before anyone panicked, giving the two Sentinels a moment in the corridor alone with those in the cells.

Yuri met Jim's gaze, his dark eyes glittering. Then his mouth twitched slightly. He drew himself up as if at attention, his back straight and his arms down at his sides in a rigid posture. His tiger, who had circled the area throughout the brief encounter, moved to stand before him. It regarded Jim for a long moment before it bowed its head.

The other four Sentinels on the floor, watching Yuri, immediately copied him.

Jim nodded once sharply to Yuri in acknowledgment. He felt the words rise again, words he had said to Ivanna and Dmitri before. He spoke them in a soft, stern voice. "The watch is mine."

Yuri nodded. "I acknowledge your watch," he answered almost sub-vocally.

Suddenly a small creature appeared before the tiger, brown and fuzzy and not one of the spirit animals Jim and Jonny had seen in the facility before. The instant it revealed itself, Yuri froze and his heart began to pound a skipping, frantic tattoo. The tiger reacted too, bracing his feet wide as if ready to spring, the brown creature immediately taking shelter beneath it.

Jonny looked to Jim. "What is it?"

Jim looked back to where the brown creature – which he now could identify as a raccoon dog – had sat back on its haunches and was stretching its fuzzy head up to touch the tip of its nose to the throat of the tiger. A strangely familiar feeling trickled through the air.

Jim took a sharp breath. In Chopec, he said, "It's Yuri's Guide. He's here."

-==OOO==-

"What do you mean there are _six Sentinels missing_?" Simon roared.

Joel urgently tugged on his elbow, tipping his head to a few confused passersby who rushed on their way at the apparent rage of the intimidatingly tall man. Simon scowled but acknowledged his concern and tried to bring himself back under control.

"Exactly what it sounds like, and it's getting worse," Jessie answered. "It started with Dmitri and Luka and a few others who were supposed to be switching out from their shift on the front gate, but when we sent someone to check on them, that Sentinel didn't come back either. And…oh!"

Simon could hear her moving around. "What's 'oh?'"

Jessie was moving quickly, running from the sound of it, and calling out, "Hey! Where are you going?"

"Jessie!" Simon said urgently.

"Sorry!" she said into the phone around a gasp. "There's more people leaving!" Then, to someone else, "What's happening? Stop! Don't take the car unless you tell me _why_!"

The phone bounced around for a while and Simon fought the urge to start sprinting for his own car. Then there was a brief silence and a new voice sounded. "Simon?"

"Ivanna," he identified her at once. "What the hell is going on?"

"I do not know," she answered shortly. "But my people do not panic for nothing. There must be danger."

"Danger? What kind of danger?"

"I cannot guess," Ivan said. "I will remain here. Perhaps those unable to go will know. Jessie, take this," and she handed the phone back. More distantly, Simon heard her say, "Get in the car with Anya. She is waiting for you."

"Okay," Jessie said. "Simon, I guess I'm going for a ride."

"Stay on the line. I'm handing you to Joel," Simon said, pushing the phone over. He began to move down the sidewalk at just shy of a run, Joel trotting to keep up. "Stay with her and see if she finds out what's going on. I'm going to get on the horn."

"What do you think it is?" Joel asked.

"I have no idea," Simon answered, "but if it's enough to get a herd Sentinels moving, it's not going to be good news."

-==OOO==-

Benton rose quickly, shivering. The small outpost was heated, of course, but to conserve power Race and Benton had programmed the thermostat to drop the temperature when both were sleeping. He shoved his feet straight into his boots, the thick socks he'd slept in hitting the soft padding that would have protected his toes from frostbite if he'd needed to go walking outside. Shrugging into yet another sweatshirt, he considered his parka. At least until the heat got going.

But the parkas were still slightly damp, so he opted against it. Instead, he simply unzipped the sleeping bag and wrapped it around himself like an enormous shawl. He crossed the small room silently, endeavoring not to wake up his extremely light-sleeper bodyguard, and settled at the computer.

Partly to maintain their cover and partly to keep from going crazy with worry, Benton had legitimately undertaken the study he had said was his reason for being here, albeit without any real passion. He had spent a good portion of the previous night outside taking measurements and making observations while Race waited inside, monitoring the equipment. They had a buddy system set up wherein they only slept at the same time for three hours. Otherwise, Race sat up alone while Benton slept, then Benton rose early and let Race sleep for a while. It wasn't a perfect system, though, because while Benton was _supposed_ to sleep from midnight to six in the morning and Race was _supposed_ to sleep from three in the morning until nine, Benton found he was unwilling to go to bed quite on time and Race was often up far earlier than scheduled.

They talked very seldom in those days, and they listened to the steady beeping of the watch beacons almost obsessively.

Benton settled into his chair, waking up the monitors of the many computers throughout the room and bathing it in an electronic light. Race grunted and rolled over in his cot at the other end, pulling a pillow from Benton's bed and shoving it over his face without even waking. Benton smiled at his friend while he reached across the table to the coffee-maker; he and Race had purchased it for the research station because it was top-of-the-line and could run for days on minimal electricity. Race had thoughtfully left a mug waiting to be filled, and Benton hit the lever, breathing deeply at the rich, familiar scent that filled the room.

The monitors now bright and online, Benton began his usual checks. He could still hear the regular beep of the watch signals from Jim and Jonny – the sound was never muted no matter who was sleeping – but he had other means of monitoring the situation. The Quest system came up after a moment and Benton noticed the red flag to one side that only ever meant trouble. He accessed the alert with just a few keystrokes, his heart sinking.

"Race!" he called urgently. "We've got a problem."

With a grace born of years of practice, Race woke completely at his voice, pulled his legs out of the sleeping bag and stepped into his boots, rising with a gun in one hand and his thick coat in the other, all without making a sound. Only after he had glanced around the room to make certain the danger was not inside with them did he tuck the gun into the holster hanging beside the jacket and strap it on.

"What is it, Doc?"

"I should say we have more than one problem," Benton said, fingers flying over the keyboard. "Hadji locked himself and Blair out of the network, and IRIS confirms that both their laptops have been destroyed."

"Anything from Jessie?" he asked, striding over.

"No, but there's an alert at SELF, too," Benton pulled up a data feed. "Sentinels are leaving the lodge without reason. From the tracker in Jessie's phone, it looks like she's going with them."

"So where are Blair and Hadji? And what does Sentinels going on some kind of field trip have to do with locking them out of the Quest system?"

"That's the other problem," Benton said. "IRIS reports that Blair and Hadji's last signal came from Murmansk."

"Murmansk!" Race's eyes widened. "What are they doing way out here?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say they followed us." Benton's worry couldn't quite hide the sly pride in his voice.

"How?"

"We'll have to ask them later." Benton turned back to the screen. "Hadji clearly tracked us here, but didn't contact us directly, so I presume he didn't want us to know he was following us. I'd bet anything that he and Blair found out about Jim and Jonny somehow and came to help."

"And something bad happened," Race finished. "Something bad enough for Hadji to cut off his best avenue for getting help. If he was worried about compromising the Quest system, that means he had enough heads up to know he was going to be in deep trouble."

"Exactly. And as the alert from the SELF lodge happened only a short while ago, I don't think that the Sentinels are reacting to whatever has happened to Hadji and Blair – the time-frame doesn't match up." Benton pulled up another window on the screen. "There's no notice sent to Agent Fritz, though."

"So you're telling me that while we've been waiting for Jim and Jonny, somehow Blair and Hadji found out where we were and came after them – and wound up in even worse danger? And at the same time something's happening in Cascade and the Sentinels there are in trouble too?" Race ran a hand through his short hair. "They say trouble comes in threes."

"Well, let's hope it doesn't," Benton answered. "We're too far away to help Cascade now. We'll have to trust Simon and Jessie to look out for the Sentinels. And it'll take time to see if I can track down what happened to Hadji and Blair." He looked up at Race, his expression tense. "If trouble happens in threes, then Jim and Jonny are next."

-==OOO==-

Jonny blinked at Jim's words, then turned to stare at Yuri and the two spirit animals before him.

 _Yuri has a Guide. And he's here. This is not good_ , he thought. _Like we didn't have enough to worry about before_.

Something about how the tiger was clearly deeply distressed, angry and defensive and frightened all at once, Jonny found himself reaching out to his own spirit animal with a wordless request. The fox appeared and slipped through the clear wall of the cell, standing before the pair. The tiger growled at it, low and threatening, and the fox ducked submissively. But he did not stop moving forward. When the fox was near the raccoon dog, he reached out and carefully touched his nose to the creature's head. They were almost the same size, but Jonny's fox puffed up a bit beside the raccoon dog protectively.

Yuri looked sharply to Jonny who nodded very slightly. _Message received, Sentinel. I'll look out for your Guide if I can_.

Then there was a shout from the end of the corridor. One of the guards called for them in Russian and Jim and Jonny had to turn away. But all the way up the elevator to the second floor, Jonny could almost feel Yuri's senses following him.

The guards on the uppermost level other than the false ones above were clearly tense, and Jonny extended his hearing to pick up on many rapid, urgent conversations. He honed in on a pair of specific voices.

Mister Sokoloff was saying, "He's in the records for Zero Five as a partner of some kind."

"And he just arrived here? Under his own power as if by accident?" Miss Yi demanded.

"So he has said. He told the upstairs agents that he got lost in a storm while fishing and his boat was destroyed. But he is an old, old man and it's almost impossible he could have survived long enough to reach us."

"He's clearly lying," Miss Yi said.

"Of course. Should I just have him killed?"

Jonny's heart raced in sudden panic. Beside him, Jim put a hand on his shoulder, every line of his body taut but still holding himself back.

"No," Miss Yi said. "Bring him in. But I want him kept in seclusion. We shall see if Zero Five reacts to his presence." She paused, then said, "Assign that boy to watch him."

Jim and Jonny exchanged a glance.

Within the hour, Jonny had been pulled off his usual tasks by Sokoloff, who showed him a room on the second level that he had believed was just storage. And so it appeared once the door opened, piled to the ceiling with boxes and crates, but for the cleared area in the back corner. A few spare transparent walls had been bolted into place to make a small square with no door. Within it there was only the thin mattress of a cot, a few dingy blankets, and a pail for a toilet – unlike the rooms the Sentinels were held in, which at least had proper camp toilets. Sitting on the bed, clearly shivering, was an elderly man.

"You will keep him alive," Sokoloff said to Jonny, "and watch him. If he attempts to escape, call the guards. If he does anything strange, you must alert myself or Miss Yi at once."

"Yes sir," Jonny said. Then, "How do I feed him?" The Sentinels all had little doors in their cell doors that would open enough for a tray of food. This was just a solid cube without a roof.

Sokoloff gestured and Jonny saw that one of the panels was offset slightly, raised a few inches from the floor of the room. Even a juice box would have to lie flat to pass underneath, but it was something. Then, pointing to a chair set nearby, Sokoloff waited for Jonny to settle before leaving.

Jonny regarded the elderly man who had not looked up even once. "Are you all right, sir?" he asked in Russian.

The man looked at him and Jonny thought he had perhaps the most piercing eyes he'd ever seen. "Am I watched?" he asked.

Jonny frowned and opened his senses. He could hear the buzz of electronics all around him, but he piggy-backed his hearing to his vision and checked each spot. There _were_ cameras nearby, but they were all pointed towards the hall or the adjacent rooms – presumably no one expected they would need to monitor this room as closely if they could tell who had come and gone from it.

He shook his head. "There are no cameras in here," he answered. Then, "Do you know what I am?"

"I do, boy. And I can see your spirit."

Jonny raised his eyebrows. He hadn't summoned the fox and couldn't see it himself.

"I won't hurt you. I told Yuri I would try to help you."

"I know this as well," the man nodded. "My name is Bai Ming."

Jonny heard the tones in the pronunciation and knew it was a Chinese name. His Chinese was rusty, but he could at least put a proper address into the Russian that was more familiar instead of just a bare family name. "Bai Shifu, in this place I am called Jan, but my real name is Jonny Quest. Do you need anything?"

"To talk would ease my mind," Bai Ming answered. "Tell me, is Yuri well?"

"I think so," Jonny answered honestly. "He's not hurt or anything."

"He will be angry with me for coming here," Bai Ming smiled slightly.

"How did you get here? And why?" Jonny asked.

Bai Ming took one thin blanket from the mattress and spread it across his knees. "Is it not obvious? I came by any means necessary because my Sentinel is here. He was taken when we were separated or I should have never left him."

"No offense," Jonny looked at the man who, in spite of his thick winter gear, was clearly frail and at least two decades older than Yuri, "but are you sure that was a good idea?"

Bai Ming laughed brightly. "Of course not! But it was still necessary."

"Why?"

"He is my Sentinel." He looked into Jonny's eyes and held them. "You know this."

Jonny gulped.

"But it was not merely the need of a Guide to join his Sentinel," Bai Ming continued. "It was also for this." The man had clearly been searched, but from within the thick padding of his coat he withdrew a small brown book. He held it up. "How much do you know of a Guide's powers?" he asked.

"Uh…" Jonny tried to get his thoughts in order. "Well, I guess I don't know a lot. I mean, besides the spirit animal thing and the meditation on the astral thing. It's hard for me to know what other Guides can do." He smiled with pride. "My Guide was doing that stuff before I was a Sentinel."

"Then you both have much to learn," he shook his head. "Guides and Sentinels both receive visions of what must be, and they are bound to heed them or risk catastrophe. Such a vision brought me here to deliver this to the eagle and the wolf and the albatross."

"Well, the eagle is probably my Guide Hadji," Jonny said. "The wolf is definitely Blair. But we don't know an albatross."

"Or you did not know how to see it in the sky," Bai Ming shrugged.

"What is it?" Jonny wanted to know, looking at the book.

"It is much of the lore of the Guide as passed to me from my own grandmother. Those who know Sentinels in our homeland have no time for the legends of old. They forget that a man is more soul than body. Now, very few like me remember the old ways."

"I'll say," Jonny nodded. "We've been mostly figuring stuff out on our own." Then, "Do you know Ivan?"

"I know Miss Ivanna well," Bai Ming said. "She is wise in what she knows. But her true knowledge of her people and of yours is limited by her own Sentinel."

"Her…what?"

"You know that Miss Ivanna was married once?"

Jonny nodded. "Yeah, to a Sentinel named Ilja."

Bai Ming shook his head. "A good man, Ilja, and an old friend. But not wise enough to know that he was not a full Sentinel. And Ivanna, for all her honor, is weak where a Guide must be strongest."

"What does that mean?"

But Bai Ming closed his eyes. "There is too much to tell at once and I am very tired. You must take this book, but let none but the jaguar see it." Without opening his eyes, he dropped to his knees on the floor and gently passed the book under the small gap.

Jonny bent to take it from him, and Bai Ming grabbed his hand. Jonny looked into dark eyes as deep as the deepest starless void of outer space.

"I give you this now as well. In every language these words are kept. To ensure you understand, I tell you in your own." Then he began to recite in English, slowly, as though he were carving the words into Jonny's very mind.

 _Seven up and seven in,  
The temple steps are calling  
Within the dark, the light within,  
To fly or fear the falling._

 _Only five shall walk the path,  
The sixth the resolution  
To face the truth or fear the wrath  
Of God's own retribution._

 _Five and one will make One whole,  
Two may yet form the Other,  
Between them Seven but one soul  
To stand as one forever._

 _The seven steps, out and in,  
To touch the sky of heaven  
Will save the people from their sin.  
Trust ye the holy Seven!_

-==OOO==-

Daryl stuck an arm out the side of the jeep and felt the water on his bare hand. "This was a good idea, you guys."

"Tell me about it!" Lai grinned from the front seat. "Good thing somebody's got a ride!"

"Well, you know," Eric said a little shyly, "I used to do a lot of moving around for matches and stuff, so…"

"Who cares why you've got it?" Lai tossed her head, her dreadlocks bouncing. "A jeep is far better for a picnic than a car would be anyway."

Daryl didn't care that it was a rainy day with barely enough warmth to call itself March. There was less than a week left of spring break, and he just couldn't have stood even one more day of the weird silences and secrets. Daryl had opted to stay on campus for the break, grateful for the respite while Marc went somewhere warm and beach-y with as many girls as he could charm. He'd wanted to spend some more time with Jessie, but she seemed to have vanished, though she responded to email when he contacted her. She said it was something to do with covering for her father and Doctor Quest while they were on a trip.

Daryl had also been told by his father that Jim was away, and he'd taken Jonny with him, so Daryl had made the simple assumption that they all went together. But he was very surprised Blair hadn't joined them, nor, it seemed, had Hadji from the few emails they returned; neither of them had emerged from whatever had been bothering them during the end of the term, either. Daryl had kept his promise not to ask, and if he spent a number of nights before the break hanging out in the library with Jessie, studying quietly but sitting near enough that she could lean against his shoulder from time to time, well, it had seemed to help her. She'd told him everything would be fine after spring break, so Daryl had spent the last week hoping that was true.

But today Eric and Lai had turned up at his door. Both had stayed on campus during the break – Eric because, as he confessed, he didn't have the money to go anywhere else, and Lai because she wanted to get ahead on studying for the rest of the term – and they had decided enough was enough. They'd basically bullied Daryl into his coat and then onto the rear bench of the jeep. They'd stocked up with all kinds of foods Daryl had a feeling his mom wouldn't approve of, from doughnuts to gummy worms to cheese puffs, and set off out of the city.

With every mile from the campus, climbing up into the mountains above the city, Daryl felt his worries being drawn away. For the first time in weeks, he started to relax.

"So," Lai said brightly as they had to slow down to start up some of the steeper, narrower roads, "you going to tell us about it?"

"About what?" Daryl turned back in surprise.

"Jonny. And the rest," Eric said.

"We're worried," Lai added.

Daryl looked out the window. _So much for relaxing. This was an ambush_. He cleared his throat. "I'm not sure what to tell you."

Eric hit the brakes and pulled off into a little scenic overlook on the side of the road that gave a spectacular view of Cascade, wet and grey, and the mountains below and around them. He put the jeep in park and turned around.

"Look, we're their friends too. And we're your friend," he said firmly. "So somebody's got to tell us what is going on with everybody."

"I don't really know that much," Daryl admitted.

"Let's pool our information," Lai said reasonably. "One at a time. Jessie has been upset for weeks, barely sleeping, having trouble concentrating on her studies. Now, the reason for it is clear, of course."

"It is?" Eric was surprised.

Lai nodded. "Of course. Jessie is struggling by watching what is happening to Jonny and Hadji."

"How can you tell?" Daryl asked, though he knew that for himself.

Lai just _looked_ at him. "It's obvious."

"So then there's Jonny," Eric said. "He hasn't been in the room since the middle of February. When he packed up his stuff, he said he had to go stay somewhere else, and he didn't give me a reason that wasn't full of crap. But he was still going to classes and all at least most of the time. He looked…"

"I know," Daryl filled the silence. He wasn't sure how to describe it, either, but he knew what Eric had seen.

"And what about Hadji?" Lai asked. "I haven't seen him at all."

"He's been…with Blair," Daryl admitted. "Still sleeping in his room, I think, but not spending any time there."

"What's Doctor Sandburg got to do with it? Besides that you all are friends?" Eric asked.

"I _don't know_ ," Daryl stressed. "Seriously. I don't." He slammed his head back into the headrest of his seat. "God I wish I did."

"Look at it another way," Lai suggested. "Had you ever seen Jonny without Hadji before he moved out of the dorm?"

Eric shook his head. "No, not really."

"And then you never saw them together afterwards."

"No."

"So, evidently, something happened between them and Jessie is caught in the middle," Lai concluded. She looked at Daryl speculatively. "They didn't…fight over her, did they?"

"No!" he cried. _Oh god I hope not_. What he said instead was, "It doesn't make sense that way. And it wouldn't involve Blair."

"That's true," Eric nodded. Then he sighed. Daryl was struck – how could such a huge, tough-looking guy seem so lost? "I hate this stuff."

"Me too," Daryl said emphatically.

"We had a good thing going," Eric said. "All of us. You guys, me, Jonny, Hadji, and Jessie. And sometimes Doc Sandburg too. But mostly just us. All of us misfits."

"You're not a misfit," Lai said.

"Yes I am," he shrugged. "And we were all late-starters, too. Face it. By the time we all got here, everybody had their friends and their floormates and their cliques all sorted out. We're all the ones that got picked last for the team."

"Oh, yeah, when did that _ever_ happen to you in high school?" Daryl teased.

Eric grinned. "Baseball. I catch worse than a blind rabbit."

Lai and Daryl laughed and, by mutually unspoken agreement, they let the topic go for a little while. Daryl passed food up to them and they set up a little picnic spread throughout the jeep. With the stereo on and the rain beating a soft counter-rhythm above them, it was cozy, friendly, safe. But Daryl understood what Eric meant. It wasn't the same without the other three to share it.

 _What is going on with everybody?_ he wondered, tuning out an argument about what real Chinese food should taste like from the front seat and staring out his window. Then he blinked.

"Guys! Look!" he shouted, lunging between their seats and pointing back at the road below and to the left of them.

Eric and Lai turned in time to see a caravan of vehicles moving well above the speed limit. The cars were nondescript enough, except that every one was loaded with men and women all over the age of forty. The stretch of road would link up to the one they had taken to get to this spot in a few minutes, and the trio watched as they vanished from sight only to reappear later, speeding just a few yards away.

"Oh my god!" Daryl cried. "That's Jessie!"

Lai and Eric looked where he was pointing and, sure enough, that was Jessie Bannon in the back-seat of one of the cars in the caravan, looking pale and worried.

"Come on!" Eric yelled, tossing a half-eaten doughnut over his shoulder as he hit the ignition.

"What are we doing?" Lai asked.

"Going after them!" Eric said, throwing the jeep into gear and pulling out of the spot.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Lai demanded.

"Yeah." Daryl leaned forward to look her in the eye. "Yeah, it is. She's our friend, right?"

"Well, of course, but…"

"Then we're gone," Eric said, nodding to Daryl. "Strap in. They're moving fast."

Daryl tightened his seat-belt and stared intently forward, all thoughts of waiting gone from his mind.

 _Now I'm going to find out what's wrong. And maybe I'll finally be able to help. Whatever it is, if there's something I can do for any of them, I'm going to do it, no matter what. They're my friends, too._


	9. Chapter 9

Still out there? Seems like forever since I posted, even though it hasn't really been that long. But anyone who has spent 4 days embedded in nerd culture will tell you it's like a visit to your home planet. It was a relief and and a soul-affirming weekend and I barely slept. I hope you all know that feeling from somewhere in your lives, too.

Anyway, back to the story.

Enjoy!

* * *

Blair and Hadji ducked into what turned out to be a disused windowless office of some sort to consider their options.

"Okay, let's take stock," Blair whispered.

"It matters not how many lanterns a man may carry if the darkness lasts eternally," Hadji whispered back.

Blair fought the urge to giggle. "You really do that just to get under Jonny's skin, don't you?"

"Of course," Hadji shrugged. "And to maintain some perspective. When my friend is wildly leaping before recalling to look, some obscure wisdom may give him pause. He often still jumps, but it provides a brief interlude during which I may prepare myself to catch him."

"We should form a club," Blair replied with a grin. "They hyper-competent, confusing sidekicks club."

"Very well," Hadji said. "I shall be president. You can be vice president. We will assign Race to be our secretary."

"Is Race confusing?" Blair wanted to know.

"Is there any other man you know who uses phrases such as 'useless as a chicken wire submarine' or 'tough as a chocolate fire screen' in daily life?"

Blair choked on a laugh. "I see your point."

The moment of levity was not a waste, even though it was perhaps a risk they should have avoided. But after slowly creeping around the building for well more than an hour without being discovered or any alarm at their absence raised, they were both feeling a little reckless. They were also starting to feel a little hopeless. For all that they'd come upon endless hallways of rooms that reminded them uncomfortably of the place in Borneo where they had been held captive together, they had yet to identify any way out.

Blair glanced at himself and Haji. Both were well disguised in the boots, ankle-length coats, and hats of the guards. Plus, as an added bonus, they were warm. They had multiple sets of keys that had given them pretty fair run of the area so far, as well as a pair of pistols. Blair had accepted his with a grimace – even if he was willing to shoot to save his life or Hadji's, he really, really, _really_ didn't want to.

"So," he asked after a moment. "Up or down?"

"The stairwell has no indication of how many floors in either direction there may be," Hadji reasoned, "but certainly many from what we were able to see from the landing."

"We could be underground or up in a skyscraper," Blair grumbled. "No good way to know."

"I believe we are statistically more likely to be up than down," Hadji offered. "Building a large number of stories downwards in this part of the world is difficult due to the frozen earth. It can be done with much blasting and such, but there is often a risk of contraction in the cold."

"So that's a vote for going down the stairs. Hmm." Blair thought about it. "More people that way, probably."

"But greater chance for escape. Going up, we must learn to fly."

"Yeah, I'm not a fan of that," Blair said a little weakly. Then, changing the subject, "Any idea why _they_ haven't raised an alarm yet?" Both were being careful to avoid names as well as words like "Sentinel" and "Guide" in case it drew the sisters' attention.

"None," Hadji admitted. "Perhaps they do not yet know of our actions, but with the two women able to listen for us..."

"Wait." Blair sucked in a long breath and made his brain work for him. "We know what they are, and we know what they should be able to do. But...they needed us. Remember?"

"Of course."

"So maybe they haven't really got control yet. The other one I met a while back, she kept things mostly shut down because every time she opened up her abilities they would hit her with a headache or something."

"Our friends back in Cascade were trained in the use of their abilities and did not report headaches during their training," Hadji countered. "I find it very improbable our hosts would not have found similar teachers and put them to use."

"Maybe they left and forgot to tell someone to check up on us?" Blair suggested.

"Perhaps," but Hadji was not convinced. "I think, however, the answer is one we cannot currently fathom."

"Well, then there's nothing to do but go downstairs and either find out or get out of here," Blair said a little more airily than he really felt.

Hadji nodded and the pair left the room, making for the stairwell that looked as if it were little used. They had also encountered an elevator, but they dared not use it in case it alerted their enemies that they were moving around. This stairwell was dim, barely lit every few flights with old bulbs in wire cages. They moved quickly and as silently as they could, listening every few moments with hearts pounding.

Several stories down, Blair paused as they passed the door to a certain floor. Hadji looked at him inquisitively, but Blair shook his head and held a hand up for silence. He examined the door carefully.

 _Sound-proof, I'd bet all the money in my account, not that I've got a lot_ , he thought to himself. _Sound-proof means they don't want noise getting from this floor out, or, more importantly, that they don't want it getting in_.

Blair reached down into himself, into the part of his mind and heart that knew things he didn't entirely understand, the part that had known how to help Jonny the previous year, how to reinforce his connection with Jim, how to be a Guide. The innate wisdom that Ivanna had called "the light within."

His heart told him there were Sentinels nearby, but not in the immediate vicinity. And those Sentinels did not include Jim or Jonny, either.

It was a long-shot, but...

Blair signaled for Hadji to wait and was relieved and gratified when his younger friend simply accepted his decision without argument, though he did raise an eyebrow questioningly. _Jim would be blowing a gasket since he tells me to wait while he goes out to do this sort of thing all the time. Yeah, we are so forming a club when we get home_.

One of the keys on Blair's ring opened the door and he slipped inside.

 _Definitely redesigned for Sentinels. Nothing to draw the eye, air filters at work, corridors made very straight and plain to prevent disorientation, not different enough to be noticeable unless you know what you're looking for. This is deliberate. And that means...bingo_!

The hallway really looked like it belonged in a hospital more than anything else, and when Blair reached what could only be described as a nurses' station, complete with waiting blank clipboards and powered-off computers, his eyes went straight to the shelves. Blair had spent enough time in hospitals to know that nurses kept their supplies right out in the open within easy reach. Not things like drugs or needles, of course, but the basics – stethoscopes, bandages, masks. Essential equipment for emergencies.

 _And when you're dealing with Sentinels, there's something else you want available for emergencies_ , Blair thought with glee. He reached out and snatched a small, portable white noise machine from where it sat with two or three others and switched it on. He, of course, could barely hear the soothing silence it emitted, but he felt instantly better. He and Hadji could move pretty quietly, but _nothing_ was quiet enough when Sentinels could hear the blood pounding in your ears.

Nothing but artificial silence, anyway.

Not wanting to press his luck, he returned the way he'd come and met Hadji in the stairwell again, grinning triumphantly as he held up his prize. Making sure it was cranked up to full output, he felt safe enough to risk a whisper.

"It looks like a hospital for Sentinels in there," he said.

"Capacity of more than two?" Hadji asked.

Blair nodded.

"Then they expect more than the two we have, ahem, met." Hadji's face was implacable at this, but Blair knew how to read the worry in his eyes. Worry he shared.

They continued down the stairs.

-==OOO==-

With Jonny off handling the unexpected Guide, Jim found his shift strangely swapped out, putting him on the third floor for a few hours. As he was doing his rounds, he took some time across from the two women. Emeline gave him a watery smile under the long, thin hair that spilled around her face. Her rabbit was nowhere to be seen.

But something about Hasna drew Jim's attention. He peered into her cell.

"What do you want?" she asked angrily in English. But Jim knew her voice now and heard no real anger beneath her words.

He opted not to answer her, but met her eyes intently.

"Gonna watch me spit out their invading parasite?" she asked, sounding a little deranged. Hasna had an odd habit of being completely curled up, sometimes with her head even upside down like a cat's, but still speaking. Jim wondered if it was a polecat thing or just something she had adopted to unsettle her captors.

Then he considered her words.

"You won't have to wait long," she said after a moment.

 _Oh no_. Jim narrowed his gaze and stared at her. Yes, her abdomen seemed...different now. Positioned every so slightly lower. Her scent was changing, too, very subtly. And as he extended his hearing, he could clearly make out the baby's heartbeat, but it wasn't curled up close to her stomach. It was lower. And the blood that was its cushion...

His eyes widened with realization and Hasna smiled a little.

"Not today," she sang at him. "But soon."

Jim spoke as softly as he could manage, barely moving his lips at all. "Do they know?"

"Oh yes," Hasna said, and a tear rolled, well, not down her cheek because she was upside-down, but along her temple, vanishing into her dark hair. "And when this thing learns to breathe, it will breathe all their lies." Another tear slid after the first. "I will probably never even see it."

 _I should have realized. Of course they'll take the baby from her as quickly as they can. They want to study it, or make it theirs, or whatever they're doing. Oh god. I can't let them do that._

Jim searched for something to say to maintain his cover. He turned away and stared at the cell next to Hasna's which held a woman in her forties who had never done more than rock herself in slightly frantic rhythm and occasionally mutter to herself, particularly right after medicine time. Her name was Rosa, and she started to mumble right then.

"Don't talk crazy," he said. "I'm not gonna listen to it."

Even as he began to walk away, he could hear both Hasna and Emeline draw in deep, shuddering breaths and he knew they'd understood.

-==OOO==-

Jonny slid the tray under the partition. "Here," he said. "I added a little something I swiped at lunchtime. And I brought another blanket, too. I've got this thing," he tugged at his uniform. "I sleep it in anyway."

"You are kind," Bai Ming said with a small smile. "It eases my heart to be in your care, young one."

"I'm just sorry this is all I can do," Jonny replied. "But don't worry. Sometime soon, it'll be over and we'll all get out of here."

"Yes, I believe you are correct," Bai Ming nodded, taking his tray and setting it before him, delicately biting into the hard bread that was more rock than roll.

Jonny felt a shiver and got up from the floor, returning to his chair. He'd wiggled it out into the room so he could sit on it and see both the storage room's door and his charge without obstruction, but he'd subtly moved a few of the boxes to make spotting him from the door a little trickier. Of course he would hear anyone coming before they entered, but it never hurt to be extra careful.

Bai Ming ate quickly, leaving nothing behind. He seemed to have an unspoken trust that Jonny would never pass him something unless it was safe for him to eat.

"Young one," Bai Ming said when he had finished, neatly piling his things on the tray and leaving it near the edge, "what makes one a Sentinel?"

Jonny furrowed his brow at the odd question, but he considered it. He gave himself a moment to think, searching for the words. "It's a lot of things, isn't it?" he asked. "It's having the enhanced senses, but there's also something kind of...mystical to it. Like the spirit animals."

"That is a beginning," Bai Ming said. "But it falls far short of the truth."

"What do you mean?"

"This legend, like the augury I have already given you, exists in many languages and in every culture. I will tell you the one of my people but," he smiled slightly, "I will spare you my native tongue."

Jonny rubbed his nose. He'd tried, he really had, to talk to his new friend in Chinese, but apparently he was a lot rustier than he'd thought. The "augury" as Bai Ming called it, had been easy for him to understand in English, and his Russian was strong, too. But their one exchange in Chinese had left Bai Ming shaking with laughter and Jonny not sure if he'd asked for the man's name or his goats or worse.

Bai Ming sat back and began to speak.

"There was once a great philosopher who had studied the ways of the world in detail. He had learned of balance, that all forces have their opposite in nature. The sun and the moon, day and night. Water and fire. Life and death. Even heaven and the earth. But this last troubled him, for he could know the sun and the moon, day and night, water and fire, and even life and death. But he was trapped on earth and could not touch heaven.

"So one day he ascended the highest mountain in the land and stood on its peak, with even clouds a carpet far below. He looked into the sky and felt more distressed than ever before, for he was still trapped on earth. He could not reach heaven no matter how he tried. He contemplated throwing himself from the mountain, if that were truly the only path left to him.

"But a voice spoke to him. 'Heaven is not the opposite of earth.'

"The man shouted to the wind. 'Then tell me what it is!'

"The voice answered, 'Heaven is a vast perfection, incomplete without the earth and the worlds beyond it. The opposite of earth is not heaven, but another kind of earth. The earth within the mind.'

"The man grew angry. 'I do not understand,' he declared. 'How can there be an earth within the mind?'

"The voice and the wind both became cold. 'Not all men are born to see such miracles. And those who are will not be whole without the earth to keep them from being lost.'

"Realizing his anger was clouding his wisdom, the man calmed. He asked, 'What can I do to find the world within? And how do I bring the earth to it that I might know heaven?'

"The voice answered, 'Already you are blind and that cannot be changed. But because you ask the wiser question, you shall be rewarded. Your blood will carry the powers of the mind, and when they are united with the earth, heaven will open.'

"The man returned home with much to think on. Before the year had passed, he had married and his wife gave birth to identical twin sons whom he named Yin and Yang. But from their infancy, the boys were not like other boys. Both seemed to know things no man could know. Yang could see far into the distance, or sense a single fermented grain of rice in a storehouse. Yin had a way of fortune-telling, and of achieving miracles.

"The man watched his sons grow into adulthood, and as years passed, he came to understand the wisdom of the voice. As his life came to an end, he again climbed the mountain.

"He sat at the highest point and spoke softly. 'Heaven is the unity of this world and another,' he said.

"The voice warmed the very air around him. 'You have learned.'

"'I have,' the man answered. 'And I again see balance where others see none. Yang walks the Path of Five Steps, and is made strong by them. Yin walks the Path of Two Steps, but his two are as grand as the Five. They may share their Paths, but they must walk their own.'

"'Only the wise will know such,' the voice said. 'Balance is not in number, but in worth.'

"The man nodded. 'And together, the Path of Seven leads to the heavens.'

"Then he closed his eyes and passed to heaven himself."

Jonny sat quietly for a long while, thinking through what he had heard. Finally he looked up.

"Yang was a Sentinel and Yin was his Guide," he concluded. "The Path of Five means Yang's five enhanced senses."

"Correct," the Guide nodded. He waited for Jonny to continue.

"And...when a Sentinel and a Guide unite, they're stronger." Jonny frowned. "Bai Shifu, you talked about the 'holy seven' in the augury you taught me."

"I did."

"What does that mean? What are the two senses that Guides have, if Sentinels have the five? But, wait..." his face twisted in consternation. "We have _six_. Sentinels have the five normal senses and a weird sixth sense. That's how we can see spirit animals."

"Recall, the wise man stated that his sons would share their Paths, but belong each to their own. A Guide must also have the five senses, though not as you do."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Jonny nodded, thinking of something Blair had said in one of his lessons about how it would be pretty hard for a Guide if they had no senses at all – even someone visually impaired could Guide because they would know how sound and scent and the rest worked, but someone without any senses would be incapable of relating to a Sentinel. "So you mean Sentinels have normal sixth sense and Guides have a much more heightened version, then?"

Bai Ming smiled. "No, Sentinel. You fail to comprehend. What makes a Sentinel or Guide is not the strength of a sixth sense alone. A Sentinel must have enough of one to comprehend his spirit animals. A Guide must have a broad sixth sense, far beyond that which even Sentinels possess. These things are true."

Bai Ming leaned forward and held Jonny's gaze with his own. "But they are not what truly has merit, young one. A Sentinel – and a Guide – is a master not of five senses, or even six, but of _seven_. And with that seventh sense united, the doors of heaven open wide."

-==OOO==-

"Alkaev!"

Jim turned at the shout of his assumed name. One of the guards who spoke English was striding towards him.

"Miss Yi asks you to switch your shift with mine to assist her," he said, shrugging. "She's up in her lab."

"Understood," Jim nodded. But even as he rode the elevator upwards, he could feel a chill on the back of his neck. Jim had been a good soldier and was still a good cop, and in both cases he had learned to trust his instincts long before he had the Sentinel stuff to add to it. And right now he had the classic "I've got a bad feeling" thing going on.

But he allowed none of it to show on his face. Instead, he marched smartly to the door and knocked. Miss Yi opened it after a moment.

"Good," she nodded at him. "Come in."

Jim followed her and immediately took stock of the room. The lab was half office with a desk and a computer, and half something out of a psychology nightmare complete with a chair built with all kinds of restraints and ominous-looking gadgets.

Unlike every other time Jim had been in this room, the chair was empty.

"Sit," Miss Yi said sharply. She held a small pistol and pointed it at him.

Jim paused.

"Do not begin to play games with me," she frowned. "You have ten seconds to comply."

"Or what?"

"Or the delayed order I sent out will be received and the guards will slaughter every Sentinel on the fifth level." She glanced to the computer and Jim opened his vision to focus on the screen. There was a pending message on a timer, and the timer was almost to zero. Maybe he could have wrestled past her and stopped it, but maybe it would take too long, and any delay would mean…

He sat.

"Very good," Miss Yi said, reaching over and stopping the countdown. "Now, buckle in your feet and your left wrist."

Jim balked even though he knew on some level he should comply. But his hackles were up.

"Is the threat to the Sentinels on the fifth floor not enough to control you?" she raised an eyebrow. "Must I also threaten that pitiful old man and Jonny Quest as well?"

Jim recovered from his shock almost at once. "I don't know who you're talking about."

"Do _not_ try my patience!" she snapped. "With very little effort I can expose him and there is not a man here who won't kill him for the reward it would earn them from our master. Now do as I tell you or the boy will pay for it!"

Fuming, Jim locked in the ankle restraints and slid his left hand into the waiting cuff on the arm of the chair. He thought momentarily of Blair, remembered in him in David Lash's chair. _God, Chief. No wonder you were scared_.

"Better," Miss Yi nodded. She set the gun down on her desk before moving to his side, holding his gaze. Jim stared at her with undisguised loathing while she shoved his free arm into the remaining cuff and tightened all of them.

"What do you want?" he demanded.

"Honestly? At the moment, I have the only thing I could ask for," she answered. "You, Jim Ellison."

Jim didn't even so much as twitch.

"I knew you on sight, of course, and Quest as well. Fortunately for us all, no one working here was clever enough or educated enough to know what had walked so nicely into our web. I was forced, obviously, to reveal Jonny's presence to my master, but I managed to keep you a secret." She smiled. "As far as anyone knows, you are exactly what you say. My master would be displeased at my deception but then, of course, he would also expect no less. My orders, for now, are to keep the boy busy."

Jim's mind was racing. He didn't know who her "master" was, but whoever they were, they knew about Jonny. And if Miss Yi said the word, Jonny would be in a cage right alongside all the other Sentinels. _She fed us both the illusion that we had fooled her, and now she can use him against me_.

"So what do you want with me?" he bit out.

"You must realize by now that my work here is not purely academic. I have been given a very specific assignment in the research into the Sentinel mind. The Sentinels held at this facility are among the most stubborn or intractable in our network. If they can be broken, so can any Sentinel."

She looked at him coldly. "But you, Jim Ellison, are a wonder even among Sentinels. To have such a command of your powers, without the dampening field that surrounds each cell, the special food, the specifically recycled air. You survive and thrive as though not a full Sentinel with all a Sentinel's pitiful weaknesses. You are a man among Sentinels, which makes you a god amongst men."

"That's not as flattering as you think."

"And so," Miss Yi continued as if he hadn't spoken, "if I may unlock the secret to breaking _you_ , I will be able to control _any_ Sentinel."

Jim didn't like the sound of that.

Miss Yi strode over to the table across from Jim's chair. "Your greatest strength, as with all full Sentinels, is also your greatest weakness. One such as myself cannot be drawn into a catatonic state nor rendered helpless because my enhanced senses are balanced by my mundane ones. As a consequence, I cannot be so easily reprogrammed."

"What do you mean, reprogrammed?" Jim asked, utterly certain he was about to find out.

"Has your little Doctor Sandburg ever spoken to you about the power of senses tied to memories?"

Jim opted just to glare at her.

"Most Sentinels have very powerful memory recall abilities when tied to their senses. For example, for as long as you live, you will always remember the smell of this facility and probably of every single individual within it. A mere exercise in will should bring the scent back to your conscious awareness."

Unconsciously, Jim wrinkled his nose. He wondered if Sandburg could help him meditate away a few of those particulars.

"Therefore, it is a snort step to provoke a specific memory via a specific sensory trigger. Men who smell bread baking almost always think of their grandmothers, for instance."

Unbidden, an image rose in Jim's mind. Not of his grandmother, though – of Blair baking banana bread in massive loaves for a Major Crimes party.

"At this point, the normal man has reached his limit. But for a Sentinel, your senses are so much more deeply embedded in your reasoning brain, your psyche, and your decision-making. If you hear the click of a gun being cocked, you will react without thought. It is these behaviors we seek to control."

"You're telling me you're brainwashing Sentinels using their senses?" Jim growled.

"With very little success," Miss Yi said. "But perhaps with you it will be different."

She retrieved a helmet with a visor that Jim could tell was wired for both visual and sound.

"Shall we begin?"

-==OOO==-

Jim wondered if he had lost consciousness. One moment he was trapped in the chair, squeezing his eyes shut in spite of the brightness that flashed violently against his eyelids and fighting to keep his hearing turned down so far he wouldn't be able to hear the poison spewing into his ears. The next moment he was standing in the blue jungle.

"What happened?"

The blue-eyed jaguar appeared and looked at him steadily. Then it turned and began to walk into the trees.

"I guess I'm going that way," Jim remarked.

The jaguar led Jim to the base of a stone building Jim had not thought he would ever see again. And yet, this Temple of Light didn't quite look like how he remembered it from Mexico.

"Some redecorating," he quipped mostly just to have something to say. "Nicer than the first one."

The jaguar had vanished into the Temple, so Jim trotted after. He tracked the creature through the small hallway and – thankfully – past the door that led to the pools of visions that Jim would be just as pleased to avoid right now, thank you very much. Instead, the jaguar veered off to the other side, down a hallway inscribed with strange symbols.

At the end of the hallway were seven stone steps. At the top was a heavy stone door, open just a crack.

Jim started up the steps, but the air seemed to get thicker and more impassible with every inch forward. It took everything he had to heave one foot up onto the sixth step, and he very nearly dropped with the effort. But he forced himself forward, crawling onto the seventh step to where he could reach the door.

A flash of light struck Jim full in the face from the other side of the door. And there was something…

 _Blair_?

-==OOO==-

Jim came to when a cup of very, very cold water was flung in his face.

"That is enough for today," Miss Yi said. She smiled sunnily. "You are proving to be many times as difficult as all your brothers before you, so the rewards will be excellent."

Jim spat out some water and locked his jaw to keep from telling her what she could do with her results.

"I will make you a deal, Ellison," Miss Yi said. "For as long as you willingly join the rotation of my subjects, I will hold my silence and no harm will come to you or your Jonny Quest. But if you refuse, I will expose you both. The merest whisper of his Quest legacy will be a death sentence from every man here."

"You're going to let me go on with my cover?" Jim asked, suspicious.

"Of course. It does me no good at all should your true identity come to light. Then my master would be forced to terminate myself and likely everyone who had ever been stationed here. We wouldn't want that," she tutted. "No, for my own safety and the integrity of my work, you must remain as a guard for now."

"So, if Sokoloff finds out about me, and that you lied to your boss, you'll die. And if he finds out about Jonny, he'll die." He smirked. "Keeping you alive isn't really an incentive for good behavior."

"Then _this_ will be," she returned. "If anything happens to me, there will be an immediate delivery of the fact of your presence – and Quest's – to Sokoloff as well as my master. Even if you survive and escape, every man and woman you leave behind in the Sentinel cages will die. If you break your cover, you and Jonny Quest will die. If I expose only Jonny, he will die and you will be punished. There is no other option."

"I guess you're right about that," Jim said grimly.

What he didn't say was, _Except for the most obvious, of course. We were already planning to escape with all the Sentinels. Now we just have real incentive to do it sooner_!


	10. Chapter 10

In which secrets are revealed, loyalties are tested, and some Guides show their mettle.

Enjoy!

* * *

"We're just coming around the bend now," Jessie reported to Joel. "And I think – oh my god!"

"What? What is it?" Joel shouted on the other end.

Jessie stared at the sight before her. "Joel, there's been a landslide. The road is gone, both lanes, and there's a ton of debris in the ravine between the mountains. Looks like at least a couple hundred yards wide at the base."

"Jessie, you've got to get your people out of there! The mountain won't be stable!"

"That," Anya said in her Hungarian-accented English as she reached for the door handle, "is why we can help."

"Of course," Jessie said, thinking out loud. "The Sentinels will be able to feel or hear the ground shifting before it gives way. And they can look for survivors." She scrambled out of the car.

"Hang on," Joel said. She heard him cup the phone against something and start repeating the situation to Simon.

Jessie watched as the Sentinels formed up in a group in front of where Dmitri was perching on the roof of a car. Between the pouring rain and the gathering darkness of dusk, she was blinking to see anything, but the Sentinels didn't have that problem. However, she remembered that every single SELF vehicle was equipped with an extensive emergency kit. While the Sentinels gathered, she flung open the nearest trunk and started pulling out supplies.

"Jessie? You there?" Simon said into the phone.

"Yeah, I'm here." She was glad she'd grabbed her coat, but she thought there might be something better than that in the kit. She started digging around, pinning the phone between her shoulder and her ear so she could use both hands.

"No one's officially reported the incident yet," Simon said. "I can call it in, but it'll be a while before anyone is out there to clear the area for rescuers. And when they get there…"

"They'll see the Sentinels," Jessie finished. She let out an aggrieved breath. "Does it matter? If there's people down there, we have to act now!"

"Of course we do," Simon answered. "Joel and I are mobilizing as we speak and we'll be there as soon as we can. If we're in time, we can help redirect any questions while you and the Sentinels clear out." He paused. "Will it do me any good to tell you not to go climbing around in an active landslide zone?"

Jessie grinned as she spotted the helmet with a flashlight attached. "Nope."

"Figures." Then, "Jessie, we might have to tell a few people about all this."

Before Jessie could respond, the Sentinels suddenly began shouting. She caught more than one pointing into the debris flow and heard the word "survivor."

Turning her attention back to the phone she said, "I don't think it matters, Simon. Tell who you have to tell. We've got people we need to dig out now and we can't wait. I'm going in. Make sure someone calls Agent Fritz."

"Jessie!"

She hung up the phone and slammed it into her pocket.

"Break into teams of four," Dmitri's voice boomed even in the dense rainfall. "Spread out. And I want at least ten of you to join me in listening to the mountain for more danger."

"I've got supplies!" Jessie shouted, drawing the Sentinels' attention. She held up the kit in her hands. "There's one in every car, with everything from medical stuff to blankets."

"Good," Dmitri nodded sharply once. "We will find and rescue the people, you get them to safety and take care of them. We will watch over you."

Jessie gave him a thumbs-up. While the Sentinels started forming into their teams and gingerly making their way down the slick, muddy slope of dislodged earth, she opened the other cars, pulling out other kits and arranging her supplies. She looked up when someone appeared at her elbow. It was Luka.

"Do you have rope?"

"Tons," she nodded, gesturing to a coil from one of the huge 16-passenger vans. "No harness, though."

"Good enough," Luka approved. He grabbed the coil and began tying a series of loops with one end. In a few quick twists he had a crude safety harness with a long rappelling rope. He ran to the edge of the road before where the landslide had broken up the cement and looped the other end around one of the still-upright guard-rails. Then he started down the slope.

Jessie found one set of night-vision goggles in a slightly beefier kit and added them to her get-up. She peered over the edge to see Luka, a small shape in the distant darkness, reach the limits of the rope and simply climb out of his harness. Only then did she realize another pair of Sentinels had rooted around the other cars and found coils of rope of their own. They took Luka's rope and used it to slide down to his level much more quickly. Then they found some way to anchor the next rope and repeated the process until they had a series of guidelines almost to the bottom.

Jessie tore herself away from watching the preliminary rescue activities and focused on her own task. She decided to move the cars, creating a roadblock before the bend with one and flipping on the emergency lights and lighting a few flares to prevent anyone else coming up the road and ramming into all of them. Then she swiftly took the remaining vehicles the Sentinels had appropriated and got them into a more useful formation. The pair of vans she set across from one another with their backs open inside which someone could take shelter. Then she brought one of the cars near to where the slide had happened and parked it with its headlights on to leave as a beacon. The remaining two cars she moved to the side of the road nearest the edge, positioned to keep someone, either overwhelmed Sentinel or non-Sentinel, from accidentally going over in the dark where the railing was weak.

She got her supplies organized between the two vans, with water, rations, and blankets in one and medical stuff in the other. Then, with a sudden inspiration, she grabbed the tarps that had been folded up with the supplies and managed to rig a tent in the space between the vans where the rain and wind couldn't reach.

Jessie was just tying off the last flap of her tarp tent when Dmitri strode to her side.

"Someone approaches," he said. "You must turn them back."

"I'm on it," she promised, pulling off the goggles but leaving the helmet in place. Jogging back around the bend, she blinked at the headlights that were rapidly closing on her roadblock car. She started to wave her arms and shout.

"Stop! You have to turn around! The road's out!"

The vehicle came to a halt and three doors opened. "Jessie?"

"Oh no...Daryl?" she called to the familiar voice.

Daryl, Lai, and Eric moved into the light, shielding their heads from the rain.

"What's going on here?" Eric asked.

"A landslide," she answered, thinking fast. "I was getting a ride with some friends and we came upon it. We've already called it in."

"Do you need help?" Lai pointed to Jessie's helmet. "What can we do?"

"Uh," Jessie hesitated. On the one hand, she'd told Simon that some people would have to learn the truth because what mattered was the people who needed rescuing. On the other hand, she hadn't expected it to be her college friends. Members of the police or the fire department or the search and rescue teams was one thing.

Daryl saw her moment of hesitation and stepped forward, grabbing her shoulders. "Let us in on this. Please, Jess. Trust us."

"Okay," Jessie decided. "Get the jeep behind the roadblock and grab anything you have that might help."

"Will food help?" Lai asked. At three annoyed looks, she shrugged. "Even if the landslide just happened, it'll be hours to find and dig out any bodies. Whoever your friends are will need calories to keep going, right?"

"Bring it all," Jessie decided. "Right down to the floormats if you can. We're going to have a lot of cold, possibly hurt people on our hands." She glared at Lai. " _Not_ bodies. We'll save them."

Eric jumped back into the jeep to edge carefully into the road beyond Jessie's roadblock before the other three descended on it. In a few moments the four had stripped the jeep as bare as they could and were lugging armfuls of things back around the bend.

"Listen," Jessie said as she led the way to her little staging area and dropped her load in the open back of one of the vans. "My friends…you have to understand…"

Suddenly Dmitri roared. "To the north!"

There was a rumble that grew to a roar like the sound of a train and a portion of the hillside above them broke away. The Sentinels scattered, and Jessie grabbed her friends and dragged them backwards into the shelter behind the nearest van. But they were lucky – it was on the far side of the landslide and only a few bouncing rocks made it to them. Jessie dashed for her night-vision goggles and sprinted as near to the edge as she dared.

"Looks like the worst of it missed everybody," she sighed in relief. "But there was definitely a house down there that was in the path of the new wave." She realized her college friends had followed her.

Eric looked out, squinting at what he could see in the dark. "How many friends have you got climbing around down there?"

"Uh," Jessie did a quick count. "Probably thirty, with another ten up here," she gestured to where Dmitri's team was spread out listening to the hillside.

"It's like a needle in a haystack down there!" Daryl exclaimed. "Without heat sensors or dogs or something, they'll never find anybody in time!" And then he stopped and turned to her. "Or will they?"

"They will," Jessie nodded. "They can."

"Okay. Questions later," Lai said decisively. "Action now. What can we do?"

"I should get down there," Eric said. Jessie opened her mouth to object but he held up a hand. "Look, I'm strong and I've done some climbing before. If your friends are busy finding people, they're going to need someone who can haul whoever they find all the way up here where we can help them. And I can dig, too."

"You're right." Jessie considered. "I'll go, too. Now that there's someone up here to help out." She turned to Lai. "You know some first aid, right? All the stuff is over there – use whatever you need."

"Yeah. I'll handle the basics," Lai agreed.

"Daryl," Jessie turned to him. "Your dad is on his way, probably with help. Tell him what's up and let him know he can call us back if he needs to." Then she pointed to where Dmitri stood. "That guy's in charge until Simon gets here and they work it out."

"Okay," Daryl nodded. He wanted to be going down into that morass with Jessie and Eric, but, while he was proving to be tall like his father, he was rail-thin and not particularly strong. Jessie was built like a rugby player and Eric was all muscle – both could handle this in a way he couldn't.

"Dmitri," Jessie said softly, leading the three over. "These are my friends. They want to help."

Dmitri turned and studied them. He narrowed in on Daryl. "You are Simon's son."

"Yes, sir."

"Good," Dmitri smiled grimly. "It is about time. But for later. I heard your plan, Jessie. It will do." He gestured to an area of the slide nearest the edge on their side. "The van down there is close to the surface. Three people within."

"Understood," Jessie nodded. She turned back to the vans and dug out one last coil of rope, much shorter than the previous two, and tied a loop around her own waist. "It's not much, but it'll work as a lifeline," she handed the other end to Eric. While he tied his own knot, she found one more helmet and some flashlights. Eric strapped on the helmet and she passed the flashlights to Lai and Daryl.

"One thing," she said urgently. "Don't ever, ever point the lights at my friends. Not without warning them first. You could hurt them." Not leaving time for anyone to react, she turned, tugging Eric with her.

As they started sliding down the slope, using Luka's guide-rope as much as possible, she wondered if she had done the right thing involving the others. But then she arrived at the muddy lump Anya and a few others were working on and all other doubts vanished as she started to dig out the van. She never even noticed when the four Sentinels moved away to identify another site, leaving Eric and Jessie alone to unearth the survivors.

-==OOO==-

"So, anybody want to let me in on why we're going to the scene of a mudslide? And not the good kind with alcohol?" Henri asked. He skillfully dodged a sharp elbow inbound from Brian who sat beside him.

Simon was watching the road so Joel turned to face the pair in the back-seat. "It's a really long story," he said.

"Shorten it," Brian suggested with a shrug. "Thirty-second elevator version."

"That organization of Benton's and Blair's? SELF? It's their people who responded first and are digging out survivors. And they're not here…officially."

"Are we talking 'unofficial' in terms of illegal immigrants or are we talking 'unofficial' like covert off-the-books stuff?" Henri asked.

"A bit of both," Simon answered tightly. "And let me put it this way to you boys."

They heard the sound in their captain's tone that meant trouble. Not 'oh, my coffee is too hot' trouble or even 'we're in the Sandburg Zone again' trouble. This was real 'I would shoot you if I could come up with a good enough excuse' trouble.

"You're about to be brought in on a secret that, literally, has international security implications, not to mention possibly risking the lives of some very good friends and allies. If _either_ of you let me down in _any_ way, so help me I'll _bury_ you so far down in legal trouble even the _president_ will never find you and that's a _promise_ , gentlemen."

Henri and Brian exchanged glances. Henri actually gulped.

"You hear me?" Simon growled.

"Loud and clear, captain," Brian said. Then, "This has to do with Jim being a Sentinel, doesn't it?"

Simon almost skidded the car off the road. But Joel beat him to the yelling.

" _WHAT_?"

"Pretty obvious," Henri said casually. "After all that stuff with Hairboy's dissertation and now this SELF thing, I mean. We _are_ detectives, you know. So who are these people? Feds?"

Joel actually laughed, earning him a Simon glare of doom usually reserved only for Ellison and Sandburg at their very worst. "Not even close," Joel shook his head. "But friends."

"Good enough for me," Brian said. "Hey, so, how long have you guys known?"

"About the Sentinel thing?" Joel asked. Brian nodded. "They told me just a month or two ago."

"Ha! Pay up!" Henri cheered.

"What about you, captain?" Brian asked, ignoring his partner's grin.

"Since the very beginning. Since the kid started riding with Jim."

"Ha! I don't owe you a dime!" Brian pumped his fist. "We're tied."

"Okay. Tiebreaker." Henri leaned forward. "Did Connor know?"

Simon snorted. "She found out when we were in Mexico."

"Inconclusive," Brian shook his head. "I guess we're down to the tiebreaker _tiebreaker_."

"Yup," Henri nodded. "So…we know Rhonda doesn't know. Which means Carolyn Plummer didn't know, and we'd have heard the explosion if you had to tell the commissioner. Which just leaves one person." He paused for dramatic effect. "Does Daryl know?"

"No," Simon shook his head. "No, nobody's talked to Daryl about any of it. He's totally in the dark."

"Uh," Joel pointed as their headlights lighted on a figure next to a line of flares on the ground, "I'm not sure that's true anymore."

"Daryl?" But Simon's confusion was lost in the explosion from behind them.

" _HA_! That's it! _I win_! Pay up, buster!" Henri Brown stuck a finger in his partner's chest and jabbed.

"Aw, c'mon, man. Daryl's here, so he just found out," Brian whined.

"Nope. Doesn't count and you know it."

Simon was occupied by carefully steering the car around the flares and figuring out what to do about his son, so Joel turned to the pair of detectives.

"Did you really bet about who knew Jim and Blair's secret?"

"I figured _everybody_ was kept in the dark for some kind of good reason. Rafe said that probably they only kept the two of us out of it so we'd have some objectivity if anybody ever challenged Ellison's cases on the basis of some of his nonexistent forensic evidence." Henri looked away. "I didn't think you all'd keep a secret this big from your friends."

"We'll talk about it later," Simon said, parking the car. "Right now we have a real emergency. So put away your hurt feelings and get ready to get out there."

Daryl met his father. "Back this way, dad. It's really bad. Jessie and Eric are bringing up the first people now. She said you'd come. What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Later," he pinned his son with a glare, "we're going to talk about how you got here and what you think you know." He sighed. "For now, fill me in."

Daryl began detailing the conditions as they rounded the bend. "The landslide took out the whole road and buried a bunch of stuff down there," he gestured. "Jessie's…friends, I guess? They're able to locate survivors under all that stuff. They're digging fast, because the hill looks like it could go any time and they don't want anyone in a car to suffocate."

"Not without us to retrieve them first," came the deep voice. Dmitri strode forward. "Simon, it is good to have you here."

"No problem. Last I heard, search and rescue were scrambling, but their chopper was delayed due to something mechanical. We'll have company within the hour, but not sooner than that. I did put in a call to Fritz, but he might not be able to intercept them. It could be dangerous for your people, Dmitri."

"It does not matter. We have identified all who still live and are digging now." Dmitri paused and cocked his head to one side.

Rafe and Brown nudged each other – that gesture was familiar. Jim did it all the time before coming up with something totally impossible and always dead-on accurate.

"They could use a hand," Dmitri said, gesturing. A thin beam of light appeared from what must have been a flashlight just beyond the edge of the road.

"Brown, Rafe, get to it," Joel said.

The pair scurried off, but not before they heard the man called Dmitri say, "I will focus on the mountain. More will slide, and soon. My people will not take commands from you, but…"

"Don't worry," Simon interrupted. "I'll take care of the official end. Joel can go help out Lai in the first aid tent. You do what you've gotta do."

Then Brian and Henri were at the edge of a slope that seemed on the verge of giving way. They could make out the rope that stretched down into the darkness, and the two people with helmet-mounted flashlights almost to their level. They knelt down to get a better look.

"Are you okay?" Brown called.

"Yeah," said the voice of Jessie Bannon. "We've got some people coming, though."

A few moments later, they emerged into the dim light provided by all the vehicles' headlights on the road above. Jessie and two men were crawling against the muddy ground, hauling themselves up the side of the mountain along the length of rope. For a moment it seemed that Jessie and the huge man at the back of the line were each wearing a heavy backpack until the nearer backpack moved.

"Daddy!" cried a frightened little voice.

"It's okay," came an exhausted voice from the middle climber. "They're here to help you."

"We're with the police, sweetheart," Brown said. "We'll get you clear in just a second."

Jessie gave a momentous shove upwards and Henri and Brian both reached for her at once. Brown grabbed her arms to steady her while Rafe leaned down to grasp the trembling child clinging to her back. With the grace of much practice, he plucked the little girl from Jessie and smoothly pulled her to safety.

"Just relax, kid," Henri said to Jessie. "I've got you."

She nodded and allowed him to take her weight, hauling her up the rest of the embankment in one quick motion. She stumbled into Rafe, who was holding the little girl close.

"Jessie!" Lai and Daryl rushed to her side.

"Get the kids," she said breathlessly, scraping mud from her forehead.

Brown had already pulled the girls' father to safety and was just lifting up the last kid when there was an arm around Jessie's shoulders, steering her to the tent between the vans. Daryl realized she was coatless and glanced back. Sure enough, Jessie and Eric had both stripped their coats off to give to the two kids. As soon as he got her under the shelter he ran for a blanket to fling around her.

"I'm okay," she said, still breathing hard. "Just give me a minute."

"You just climbed halfway up a mountain with a kid on your back!" he said. "You're going to sit there until you stop shivering."

Jessie looked up. She'd tossed the helmet off when the blanket had appeared, and the beam of light from its flashlight was bouncing off the vans and making the whole area weirdly lit. Daryl leaned over her with a face full of worry.

"Listen to him," Lai suddenly appeared. "He's a smart man."

In her wake was the man who had been in the van with his two daughters, plus the detectives with the little girls. Joel came with blankets and a doughnut for the children and they gratefully huddled in the shelter while Lai and Joel checked them over.

Eric was still standing outside with the detectives. He stuck his hand out. "Hi. I'm Eric. Jonny Quest's roommate."

"Detective Rafe, Detective Brown, Captain Taggart, and I guess you've probably met Daryl's dad, Captain Banks," Brown pointed as he named each.

"Don't suppose you know what's going on here," Eric said with a wry smile.

Brian grinned. "Not a clue. Other than a rescue."

"Good enough for me," Eric nodded.

"Then get _back_ to it!" came Simon's shout. "They've identified all the survivors and they need as many diggers as we can get!"

Jessie got to her feet, shaking off her tiredness. Daryl stood before her. "Are you sure…?"

"Oh yeah," Jessie nodded. She moved towards the little family they had rescued, the man already anticipating her need and pulling the sodden coats from his daughters to return to their owners – even wet and loaded with mud, they would be some protection against the cold. Then Jessie turned back to Daryl to say, "Joel can stay here with Lai. Come on. Like your dad said, we can use all the hands we can get now."

Daryl nodded grimly and joined Eric, Brown, Rafe, and Jessie as they strode out into the disaster.

-==OOO==-

In the end, there were no fatalities from the unexpected landslide, and twelve very, very grateful people were pulled to safety, including an elderly couple whose house had been partially collapsed after the second slide. Simon and Joel managed to coordinate with their friends in the different agencies to explain away the presences of the Sentinels as some kind of caravan of wilderness explorers. By the time anyone on the actual search and rescue teams really got organized, the Sentinels had located and at last partially excavated all the people under the mud – not that the officials would believe it, of course.

But Simon managed to extricate the Sentinels as well as his own people and the kids once the twelve survivors were safe; until that point, the forty Sentinels had _refused_ to clear the area, developing selective deafness whenever someone tried to give them orders. But when they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that all the people were safe, they allowed the officials to hustle them into their cars and send them on their way. They cared not a bit if the search and rescue crew wanted to dig through the debris for days on end to find nothing – those who needed saving had been.

Throughout it all, Simon had watched Daryl, his two friends, and Rafe and Brown. And nobody had let him down, to his delight. So, as the last of the Sentinel cars took off back around the mountain, Simon gathered together his own people and the kids.

"Good work, all of you. I'm proud of you." He smiled particularly at the four young people. "Very proud. You all handled yourselves like pros."

"I'm glad you were here with your friends," Lai said to Jessie. "Those people would have died otherwise. Nobody would have found them in time."

"And speaking of that," Eric said. But then he paused. "Never mind. There'll be another time."

Simon was impressed at the kid's restraint. Even Daryl – who had reminded him yet again that he would figure out all the secrets eventually – was cowed and subdued by the night's work. That deserved something in return, Simon felt sure.

"Come on," he said, catching Jessie's eye and nodding. "There's a good place we can all clean up a lot closer than Cascade."

Everyone blinked at that. They were so heavily covered in mud they looked like monsters from some creepy lagoon, and Eric had a rock stuck fast to the mud in his hair on one side. Brown seemed to have a branch sticking out of his ear. But in the chaos and urgency of the situation, they'd all forgotten that the mud wasn't a permanent extra layer of skin.

"And then," Simon said, "it seems like there's a bit of a story to tell."

He led the way back to the lodge.

-==OOO==-

Jim stumbled out of Miss Yi's lab, his head clear but his body apparently still reacting to everything that had been done. He bypassed the barracks and went straight to the storage room where he knew Jonny would be with the old Guide.

Jonny jumped to his feet when he entered, quick to catch him and help him into the chair.

"What happened?" Jonny asked, aghast at Jim's pallor and shakiness.

"Miss Yi…she knows. About both of us. She'll sell you out to whoever's running this operation unless I play test subject." Jim rubbed his forehead and willed the weirdly colored spots to stop teasing at the edges of his vision. "And she'll kill everybody if I act against her."

"Then we have to move up our plan," Jonny decreed. "Get out of here now – today. Before it's too late and before she really hurts you."

"I agree," Bai Ming said unexpectedly. Jim blinked open an eye to look at the man.

"Why do you think so?" he asked. He'd obviously already made that decision for himself, but he was curious about this Guide's unusual opinions.

"Because it is our way to know things. And the time has come for you to leave. For many reasons."

"For many…oh, god. I forgot. Hasna." Jim looked at Jonny. "She's close. If we don't get out now, she'll have that baby here and those goons will take it away."

"Then we go immediately," Jonny decided staunchly. "No matter what, we leave before that happens."

"Agreed," Jim nodded. He smiled approvingly at his partner, his 'battle buddy' who had proved to be good under the pressure. Not that he'd had a lot of doubts to start with, knowing Jonny as he did. But it was good to see the kid flourishing under these circumstances. "Now, here's what I think we have to do."

So caught up in their plans were the pair that neither Sentinel noticed Bai Ming's soft smile.

-==OOO==-

It was pure accident that Blair discovered the alternate switch on the bottom of the white noise generator. He'd been trying to find a better way to carry it than in his hands and, while working it into the broad coat pocket of the guard's coat, a red button on the side was depressed. Blair felt the little tingle of something, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

When they reached a lower landing in the stairwell and spotted a camera whose red light was blinking, he thought it might be coincidence.

Two more landings down, another inoperative camera.

At that, he pulled it out and handed it to Hadji, gesturing to the switch and the camera. Instead of hitting the switch as a test, Hadji instead pried the case open enough to peek inside. As soon as he spotted the capacitor attached to an electromagnetic coil and the shielding for the rest of the case, he had his answer.

"It's an electromagnetic pulse generator," he whispered, handing it back. "It should short out any electronics we pass."

"Which helps with security but also might give us away if they notice the rolling blackouts following the pair of guards who never look at the cameras," Blair concluded. "Let's go fast."

They sped down some more stairs, stopping abruptly when there were no more to descend. Instead, a metal door with a heavy handle greeted them. Hadji approached it cautiously, testing the door first and looking for wires to see if it was fitted with an alarm. It opened without triggering any screeching noises, so he peeked his head out.

"Our luck continues to hold, my friend," Hadji said softly. "We have reached a garage, and I can see daylight through the gate at the far end."

"Good. Let's get out of here," Blair said eagerly.

They moved into the garage slowly, ducking behind huge piles of construction debris littered throughout the low space. After several tense yards, they crouched under a table backed up to a stack of drywall.

"I think you have to turn it off now," Hadji gestured to the device in Blair's pocket. "We cannot afford for it to short out the garage door or we will have a difficult time getting through."

"Right." Blair agreed. He reached into the pocket and hit the switch, feeling with his fingers to make sure the other switch – the one controlling the white noise output – was still on. "So, tell me. Can you hot-wire a car?"

"Unfortunately, no," Hadji shook his head. "But perhaps it will not be necessary."

"Of course!" Blair shook his head at himself. "This is like the car pool at the station. Keys will be kept centrally so people can take out vehicles as needed."

"Precisely."

"Well, let's go sign out a car," Blair grinned.

Carefully, the pair worked their way across the garage to a small booth where they could see many sets of keys hanging on the wall, each meticulously labeled. There appeared to be no one in the booth so they crept to the door, all senses alert.

But the instant Blair put his hand on the doorknob, he felt a chill. He turned back to Hadji to whisper urgently, "Something's not right. We should go back."

Hadji nodded, but then his eyes traveled upwards. Blair turned, almost losing his balance in his awkward crouch as he spotted the tall woman rising from her own hiding place within the booth, gun in hand.

"Don't move," came a voice from behind them. Blair glanced over his shoulder to see the other twin appear from behind a support pillar. "We can't let you borrow one of daddy's cars, I'm afraid."

"You could have asked," said the one in the booth, opening the door while both Hadji and Blair backed up and stood, very, very slowly, raising their hands. "You could have anything you wanted as my Guide, Hadji."

" _Never_ ," Hadji spat the word.

"Oh, it is inevitable," Anaya said as Melana joined her. "One way or another, I will have you as a Guide and my sister will have Doctor Sandburg." She smiled. "Only the very best Guides of the world for us."

"You missed your deadline," Blair said, suddenly brave. "You gave us an hour to decide. That was, like, way more than an hour ago."

"We were distracted," Melana scowled darkly. But even the flickering dim light didn't hide the very slight color that crawled up her face.

 _One of them zoned. Maybe both of them_ , Blair guessed to himself. _We were right. Not too in control after all_.

"Please do not entertain any further ideas of escape," Anaya said. "You are quite outnumbered."

There was an ominous metallic rolling sound. Blair looked up expecting a tank and blinked, twice, at the three strange things moving towards them. They were shaped rather like an oversized beach ball, black metal, and totally spherical. Beside him, Hadji sucked in a sharp breath.

"Indeed," Melana said with a twisted little smile. "You know how this ends, Hadji Singh."

"What _are_ those things?" Blair asked.

"Robots," Hadji answered. "A miniature version of Zin's robots. Almost impenetrable to weapon fire."

As Blair watched, the three rolling balls stopped and suddenly sprouted legs as joints opened in their round shells. Each sphere also unshuttered a single red lens and a pair of odd antennae that pricked in various directions. They moved like four-legged spiders, the black sphere looking uncomfortably like a monster's eyeball.

"Man, you have the _worst_ friends sometimes," Blair commented to Hadji.

"Doctor Zin is an evil, unconscionable madman," Hadji nodded, "but he does have very advanced technology."

"Now," Melana said, "you will return with us to your room and you _will_ begin your duties to help us. You do not have a choice other than whether you are injured before you surrender."

Suddenly Blair remembered what was in his pocket. He glanced to Hadji, who couldn't nod without the pair of Sentinels noticing, but his eyes shone with agreement. Blair just needed enough of a distraction that they wouldn't notice him putting his hand into his pocket. He only hoped the little device was powerful enough for the three robots.

He decided to go with straight-up truth. "Even if you do get us to agree, you know that Doctor Quest won't give up on us."

"Doctor Quest will be too busy with his own problems to even remember about you."

Hadji looked sharply at Anaya. "What do you mean by that?"

"Even as we speak, your stupid Jonny Quest has entered one of our father's facilities in some foolish attempt to learn our plans," she answered. "But the decision has been made to teach him, and his father, a lesson."

"What are you going to do to him?" Hadji demanded.

"That particular facility was an experimental base in many ways, both its construction, its cover, and its use," Melana said with a superior air. "In sevearl respects, it has failed. Particularly its structural integrity."

"Once we have the last of the data we require from the ongoing work there, father will activate the hidden charges deep in the fissures that opened underground during the construction of the site. Some of those fissures are connected directly to the sea, so whatever remains of the facility after the explosions will be flooded. When he finds that his son has drowned in Arctic water six levels down from the surface, your _precious_ Doctor Quest will think _nothing_ of your absence." Anaya leaned to Hadji. "Come be where you are _truly_ wanted and cherished, Hadji."

Blair's mind raced, including some oddly disinterested part of himself making a mental note to ensure Hadji didn't think too much about that crazy statement that Benton wouldn't care about him if Jonny were gone. But most of his focus was much more immediate. _Oh god, they're going to drown. No. No way. No way no way no way, I am NOT putting Jim through that! We're getting out of here and we're going to get them out safely no matter what it takes! My word as a Guide on it_!

"Yeah, I think he can get a better offer from a _nematode_ than that," Blair sneered. In one swift motion, he jammed his hand into his pocket and hit the switch.

At once the three robots froze up, their legs going rigid and the red lens fading to black.

Anaya and Melana didn't hesitate, charging the pair, though both lowered their guns in the process. Hadji met Anaya head-on and began to fight her hand-to-hand. Blair knew he was out of his depths for combat and sped off to one side looking for anything he could improvise as a weapon. He came up with a tire iron and swung it hard at the Sentinel closing in on him. He knocked the gun from her hand completely and she clutched her wrist with a cry at the sudden pain.

But that chill returned and Blair knew somehow that they had to wrap this up fast or meet reinforcements.

And then inspiration struck.

He dodged Melana and dropped the tire iron. Instead he grabbed for two large pails of nails and other small metallic parts. He darted back towards Hadji, who was still fending of Anaya. As soon as he was close, he upended one bucket on the floor, then chucked the other at Melana.

The racket was almost deafening.

Blair had realized he still had the white noise machine turned on, so both Sentinels must have their hearing turned up quite high to compensate. The instant his hands were empty, he hit the switch in plenty of time with the cacophony still going strong. Both Sentinels screamed and clapped their hands to their ears.

"My friend," Hadji cried, flinging out a hand. Blair didn't think; he just grabbed on.

And then Hadji did something – something Blair couldn't describe but could feel. There was a rush of energy and both Sentinels slumped to the ground, completely zoned.

"What was that?" Blair asked even as he dashed into the booth and grabbed keys for a big boxy all-terrain truck near the garage door.

Hadji slammed the button on the desk to open the door to the outside and took off running as he answered, "You zoned them with sound. I zoned them with spirit."

"That is _cool_ , man," Blair approved as he flung himself into their getaway vehicle. "Now come on. We've got some Sentinels to save."

They took off into the daylight.


	11. Chapter 11

Still there? Gonna strangle me yet?

Also, I had great fun having Blair and Hadji rescue themselves last chapter. Don't get me wrong – I love me some Blair-in-peril fic as much as the next fangirl, but he's extremely competent and sometimes I just need him to remind us that Blair can kick a fair amount of ass without ever having the training Jim has.

Now for our already-hairy situation to get so, so much hairier.

Enjoy!

* * *

"This would be so much easier if it was just you and me trying to get out of here," Jonny said in a low voice.

"True," Jim didn't turn back to look at him.

"But we can't do that."

"No, we can't."

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Jonny stared up at the ceiling of the elevator.

"Honestly? No," Jim glanced to him enough to offer a small smile. "But it's a start."

"Good enough for me," Jonny decided. He jumped for the open trapdoor above.

Jim and Jonny had swapped with a pair of guards for a few hours serving on the fifth level down, the one with the most dangerous and active of the Sentinels in the facility. Because it was just about lunchtime, the guard shifts were slightly lighter than usual, so it was fairly easy for Jim and Jonny to arrange to be alone on the floor for a few minutes, a critical few minutes to their plan because the fifth floor was unique in a way that gave them an advantage.

Because only those guards on the fifth floor were armed with tranquilizer guns and darts.

Armed with non-lethal weaponry, Jim and Jonny had decided to climb into the elevator shaft through the trapdoor in the car's ceiling. There was a camera in the shaft, but only at the very top, so in the dark it had limited visibility five floors down. They rode the elevator up one level, which put them in range of the door of the third floor above them. While keeping his balance, Jonny studied the interior of the vertical space for the thing that would make everything possible, eventually spotting it on the far wall.. It was an electrical box. Jim nodded to give him the go-ahead and in one step Jonny was perched on the edge of the elevator's roof to peer at the collection of wires and fuses. He nodded to himself before turning back to give Jim a thumbs-up.

With the fire-extinguisher Jim had brought from the fifth level, he rammed the solid part of the canister into the electrical box, breaking the outer case and causing a burst of sparks. He hit once more for good measure, then sprayed the whole thing, simultaneously preventing a fire and shorting out any wires that weren't already nonfunctional.

"That should cut at least some of the power to the floor," Jonny whispered.

"Let's go," Jim nodded, slinging the canister onto his back with his improvised sheath – a set of chains slung across his chest with the handcuffs attached to the extinguisher's neck. He moved to the door to the third level and hoisted himself up, working a hand into the gap between the doors and forcing them open.

"It's me," he called at the guards yelling to one another. "We lost power downstairs, too. Everybody okay?"

A few guards who spoke English started to answer. The lights were out, but there was a single emergency light at the far end of the corridor, near where the installation's utility room was housed. Still, it was dark and the change in lighting had been sudden, so only a Sentinel's eyes could have adjusted quickly enough. While Jim strode forward, gathering the guards together and trying out his Russian for explanations, Jonny silently pulled himself up into the doorway and levied the tranq gun. He opened his sight wide and took out each guard before they knew what was happening.

"Nice shooting, Tex," Jim approved. He stole every key from the guards, quickly chaining them together with their own handcuffs, and latching them to a pipe that carried heat throughout the building.

"Everybody!" Jim called. "It's time to get out of here. I know some of you have seen better days, but if you've got anything left in you to help yourselves, now's the time!"

"We are with you," came the strong, determined voice of Hasna.

Of the ten Sentinels on this level, three were comatose or lost in themselves, but besides the two pregnant women, the remaining five were simply old. Still, though they might not be spry, every man and the one woman had been part of the military and they were prepared to fight with whatever strength was left to them. Jonny and Jim moved along the corridor, unlocking doors as they went, the Sentinels stumbling to freedom.

"What is your plan?" Emeline asked softly.

"Jonny, hit the utility room. Kill the power to the whole base. We can use the elevator shaft to get around, though they'll be waiting for us."

"Not necessarily," said one of the old men softly. When they turned to him, he pointed. "Listen."

Jonny and Jim opened their hearing and turned to the door. Sound echoed strangely, as if there were more space than just the small closet. Jonny found the key he needed in the pile Jim had handed him and opened the room. Then he grinned.

"Perfect! There's a vertical utility corridor here that must run all the way down. There might not be doors on the levels below us, but there will be an access panel in the shaft, and it's big enough to climb in. We'll just have to break through the drywall and we'll have our own little escape tunnel straight to the surface."

"You shut down all the power. I'll find something to start breaking through the drywall," Jim said.

Jonny vanished into the closet-sized room, expertly yanking wires free and using a pilfered hunting knife to slice through those cords that ran up and down the center of the vertical corridor. The sounds of the heaters, the air pressure devices, and the lights all cut out. But the Sentinels could see well enough even by nothing more than the single emergency light on batteries near the elevator. One of the other Sentinels grabbed the flashlights from the guard station and passed them out as well.

"What about the rest of us?" Hasna asked.

"Everybody pair up, and help the people who can't help themselves," Jim ordered. He swiveled his head as he listened. The utility room wasn't shielded against sound the way the rest of the facility had been, so he finally had the chance to get his bearings without having to work to listen through electronic soundproofing and patches of white noise machines.

He smiled as he realized he could hear a great deal of confusion and yelling in the distance. It seemed that those who had been in the mess hall were still there, trapped somehow. And those who woke in the barracks were also pounding on doors. Jim knew that the people on the surface were not hampered in any way, but the bulk of the force seemed to be rather neatly contained.

 _Nice going, Bai Ming_ , he thought. The old Guide had promised to do his part and Jim had never doubted him. Locking everybody into their rooms was a familiar sort of tactic – it was the sort of thing Sandburg would do.

"The level above us is a lot bigger and has the most people on it," Jim said. "We need to get to the level just under the surface, two up from here. They'll expect us to go straight to the top, not stop one floor short. Does the shaft in here go that high?"

Jonny looked up. "Yeah. And there's a ladder, too, for maintenance."

"Somebody needs to go up first and secure the area," said the old man who had spoken before. "I volunteer."

"I'm going with you," Hasna decided.

"You okay with this?" Jim handed over one of the tranq guns.

"Yes sir," the old man said.

Jim started to turn away from Hasna who frowned deeply. "I cannot give them a chance to take my child," she said stubbornly. Jim sighed and handed over another tranq gun.

"Fine, I get it. Then get going and make us a place. There's a lot of stuff up there, so you can probably fortify your position pretty easily. We'll keep sending people up this way if we can."

"What about them?" Emeline gestured to the three Sentinels who needed to be helped along.

"Do what you can," Jim said. "Jonny and I need to go down and start getting the others free."

He turned to Jonny. "It's time. Call in the cavalry."

Jonny nodded and slammed his watch into the nearest wall, shattering it.

-==OOO==-

The regular beeping that had been their major concern for days suddenly cut off, followed by a loud alarm.

"That's Jonny's signal!" Benton said. "They need an exit and they need it now!"

"We can't be in two places at once, Doc," Race said, his voice calm in spite of his agitation. "It's your call. Do we go after Jonny and Jim? Or do we keep trying to find Blair and Hadji?"

Benton closed his eyes and forced himself to think. For six hours he and Race had been following up on the distressing information about Blair and Hadji's location in Murmansk and the deliberately-initiated system lock-out. No attempt to hack the Quest network had been made, suggesting that no one had been forcing the pair to try yet. When the digital trail had petered out, Benton and Race had made the decision to risk a trip into the city in case they would be needed. They hadn't turned up much, so they had retreated to the Dragonfly, whose equipment was much more powerful than Benton's mobile lab.

Race spoke into Benton's thoughts. "The Dragonfly can get to Jim and Jonny in two shakes of a polar bear's tail, but landing could be tricky depending on what we're walking into. On the other hand, if we'd stayed put at the research station, with the way the wind is blowing we wouldn't have done much better with that little plane they gave us for your 'research.' So we're better off now anyway. At least here we've got the 'Fly."

"A lot can happen to Jonny and Jim in an hour," Benton said tightly. "Why did I ever agree to any of this? Or to being so far away?"

"Because it was the right thing to do, Benton," Race said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Now tell me what the right thing to do is this time."

"Both my sons are in danger, Race," Benton said miserably. "But I only know how to find one, so he's the one I have to help."

"I'll start her up," Race said. "We'll be wheels, or, rather, skis up in ten minutes."

Benton nodded numbly and moved to one of the seats a row back from the pilot chairs where he could focus his efforts within the Quest system. He searched in vain for any final sign of Hadji or Blair before they would have to leave.

"Tower, this is Dragonfly," Race said, opening the channel. "Requesting permission for immediate takeoff. We are ready as soon as you have clearance on the runways."

"Air traffic control to Dragonfly. You will be clear to depart as soon as we apprehend the intruders."

"Intruders?" Race looked up with alarm.

"They are on the ground and approaching you fast. Security is already on their way. Please stay inside your aircraft while we secure the area."

Benton and Race both stood to peer out the windows towards where they could now hear the faint sound of sirens. True enough, there was a truck racing ahead of a security vehicle, nimbly weaving in and out of baggage carts and the other private plane nearby.

"Whoever it is, they drive like you, Race," Benton commented.

Then the truck's horn began to blow. Two long blasts, then a short and another long. Two short and another long. One short. Three short in quick succession. Then one long blast.

"They're spelling 'quest!'" Race yelled. He dove to one of the compartments that had a pair of binoculars handy.

"What is it, Race?" Benton asked, feeling his heart pound with hope.

"Ask and ye shall receive, Doc!" Race threw the binoculars aside and grabbed the radio, grinning fiercely. "Dragonfly to Tower. Those aren't intruders. They're the last of our party. They, uh, must have gotten lost or something."

Benton turned away from where Race tried to negotiate with air traffic control to keep the pair out of jail and hit the button to open the cargo bay. He couldn't help but run through the jet to see the truck come bumping up the ramp the instant it was on the ground. Before the truck had even stopped fully, Hadji dove out the passenger-side door.

"Doctor Quest!"

"Hadji," Benton felt the cold of his terror ease at the sight of his son, whom he pulled into a sudden embrace. "What on earth are you doing here? And what happened? You must have…"

"Too long a story, Benton," Blair said, climbing out from the driver's seat. "But there's no time to lose. If you hadn't been here, we were going to have to find some way of cracking into the 'Fly ourselves. We've got to get to wherever Jim and Jonny are. Right now."

"They've already signaled for an emergency pickup," Benton said, releasing Hadji. "We're ready to go as soon as Race gets the okay." He peered down at his son. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Hadji swallowed thickly. In spite of his serenity and his usually unflappable nature, he could not help the fear that accompanied his words.

"Father, it's Doctor Zin. He's been behind it the whole time. He's going to kill them."

-==OOO==-

Jim paused just as his little fire ax had finally broken through the drywall on the fifth floor. He could clearly hear Jonny above him helping shuffle the Sentinels from the fourth through their tunnel to start climbing towards freedom. But something else…a sound…had gotten his attention.

In a moment, he recognized it. It was the distinctive click-crackle sound of a PA system turning on. _Must be run by backup batteries_ , Jim thought. _Seems like a stupid thing to waste your time making functional in an emergency when you don't care about using it to save lives_.

"Greetings, Jonny Quest. It is I, Doctor Zin."

Above, Jim heard Jonny twitch so hard in surprise he actually lost his footing and slid down the utilities shaft a few feet before he caught himself.

"There's no way! It's not possible!" Jonny gasped.

"I am certain you are surprised to hear my voice, son of my enemy. How foolish are you, to attempt to hide in a facility of my own? It is only your own good fortune that none of my employees were wise enough to identify you, save one." There was a pause and Jim could _hear_ the displeasure. "However, she will be rewarded and the rest of you imbeciles will be punished."

 _Oh, that's why. Can't have a megalomaniac without a bullhorn_ , Jim thought to himself while he slipped onto the fifth level. This one, where he and Jonny had started, was already deserted except for the Sentinels.

"For the failures of my loyal followers, and because no more useful information can be gained from any of you _test subjects_ , I sentence all within the facility to death. Miss Yi has already received her orders to vacate. The rest of you – I hope you will enjoy your frozen tomb."

"Oh great," Jim muttered to himself. "He's one of _those_ bad guys."

"And Jonny Quest? Farewell. I will send your father after you soon, but your Guide will belong to _me_!"

That stopped Jim in his tracks as his chest seized with cold. In the utility shaft behind him, he heard Jonny start yelling furiously.

"Apparently we need to move things along," Jim said to the eight Sentinels staring at him. These were the ones who were more erratic and possibly damaged than the rest by the drugs Miss Yi had been feeding them, but he still had to try to get them out. "Everybody? Just stick with me and you'll be fine."

Then something else reached Jim's senses. He just had enough time to shout a warning before an explosion ripped through the building.

-==OOO==-

Miss Yi clutched her bag on her lap as the helicopter lifted into the air. She heard the low, resonant sound of the charges being set off deep in the frozen earth, and one in the dome itself. She felt sorry for many of the people who had earned Doctor Zin's wrath – even if it was their own fault for not knowing the face of the son of their enemy, it seemed a horrible way to die. She quietly hoped most had been killed by the explosion.

Then the dome began to buckle. In moments, it sank in on itself, the heavy support beams screaming as they bent and gave.

 _It is too bad about you_ , _Detective Ellison_ , she thought quietly to herself. _You were a marvelous subject. I wish I had had more time to study you_.

Miss Yi felt an odd sort of shiver run through her and she looked back at the collapsing structure. But even with her enhanced sight, she could see no movement that was not yet more destruction. Even from the air as the helicopter did a second pass over the scene, she could make out the cracks in the island's frozen earth that meant whatever of the installation was still standing would soon be flooded.

 _I shall simply have to locate new Sentinels for my tests, if that is what Doctor Zin wishes_ , she decided. _A pity about Zero Four, however. An infant would certainly benefit the master's cause. Perhaps he will allow me to find him another and begin conditioning it from birth. That would truly be best_.

She sat back and allowed the helicopter to carry her to whatever new assignment awaited her.

-==OOO==-

"So, that's the story," Simon sat back. The greatroom of the lodge had been left largely deserted while Simon, Joel, and Jessie talked through their explanations to the newcomers.

It had been well after midnight when they had called it quits at the site of the landslide, but that had not prevented every Sentinel in the place from trying to shower simultaneously to get rid of the copious mud and debris from their adventures. Simon had led most of his bedraggled crew to the garden and simply turned the hose on them, all but Jessie who went to her own room with Lai. Behind one of the out-buildings, the men had stripped to the skin and spent at least an hour learning all about the places dirt and rocks and grass and even sticks could get stuck. It was truly the wee hours by the time the five outsiders, wrapped in blankets and loaned sweats offered by Ivanna, had made themselves comfortable in a corner of the vast space. Luka had started up the kitchens in spite of the hour to feed the hungry, exhausted crew of Sentinels, and Jessie had brought plates for Simon's audience to give them some time while everyone else ate heartily and went back for a second attempt to get the dirt from their sensitive skin before sleeping.

"So," Daryl peered at his father through narrowed eyes, "all this time Jim was a Sentinel, and now Jonny is too, and Ngama also? And you've been keeping it from me for _years_?"

"Us too," Henri put in with a scowl.

"It wasn't my secret to share," Simon defended himself.

"Really," Lai spoke suddenly, "there are two levels to this. As friends, you may have a valid argument that you ought to have been told long ago about Detective Ellison and Doctor Sandburg. But as for SELF and the international situation surrounding it, believe me, you were safer not knowing." She sighed. "We all were."

"Your mom's a diplomat, right?" Eric asked.

"You can't tell her," Simon said urgently.

"I know that better than you do, sir," Lai returned. "You don't get it. Mom's a _Chinese_ diplomat. If I told her, she'd _have_ to tell the Chinese government. And I'm pretty sure I saw at least one person I recognize from a former security detail here tonight. These people's lives would be in real danger if the Chinese government thought they might be selling state secrets."

"But they're clearly not," Eric argued. "This isn't about spying. It's more like…rehab, I guess."

"The government won't see it that way," Lai shook her head. "Mom would agree with you, but she has her position to think of and the trust of her superiors to maintain."

"Can _we_ trust _you_?" Jessie spoke softly, rising from her place in a chair and perching near her roommate. Bandit, who had been happily asleep on her lap, whined sadly and went to sit with Simon, who pretended not to see him even as he pet the dog fondly.

Lai ducked her head but nodded. "Yes. Because mom would _want_ to help you, and it would be dangerous for her to try. But there's nothing stopping me." She looked up and met Jessie's eyes unflinchingly. "I'm in."

"Me, too," Daryl said quickly.

Eric laughed. "Well, obviously me, too. I mean, how often do you get to be a part of something like this?"

In a pair of chairs on the other side, Brown and Rafe exchanged looks. The silence from their end of the group was noticeable.

"You can't seriously be considering turning your back now, can you?" Joel asked, frowning.

"They never wanted us to know, man," Henri said with some anger. "Kept it from us for _years_. And Jim isn't even telling us himself. I thought we were friends!"

"We _are_ friends, so start acting like it!" Simon snapped. "If you have a beef with Ellison, duke it out with him when he gets back. But we're trusting you with something so much bigger than our one detective here."

"They kept it from me, too," Joel pointed out softly. "It wasn't about us, guys. It was about what they needed."

Henri frowned even more at that. "What about what _we_ needed?"

Brian reached out and put a hand on his partner's shoulder. "Tell them, Henri. Tell them what the real problem is." His voice was rough with repressed emotion.

Joel and Simon looked at one another in confusion.

"Bro, are you sure?" Henri stared at his partner.

Brian nodded tightly, his lips pressed together. "I can't."

Henri turned to the others, a strange light in his eyes. "Do you know where we spend every weekend we're not on shift?"

"Of course," Simon answered carefully. "You both volunteer at one of the state institutions for troubled youth up in Seattle. You invited me there once or twice to play basketball with some of the kids."

"You ever wonder how that got started?" Brown asked. "It wasn't really my thing, you know. The basketball part, sure. But hanging out with kids with serious mental or behavioral problems? Not my usual gig. And definitely not after a long road-trip."

Joel leaned forward, suddenly understanding. "Who is it, Brian?" he asked gently.

"My baby sister," Brian Rafe said hoarsely. "She's nineteen. She's been in there since she was eleven when she started hearing voices."

"How come I didn't know you have a sister?" Simon demanded gruffly. "I've got your file."

"She's…we were adopted by different families," Brian said, looking at the floor. "The people who wanted a perfect little girl didn't want a teenager like me. And when they found out she wasn't perfect, they threw her back into the system like she was nothing."

Simon felt like he'd been slugged. He knew Brian Rafe had been in the system – that it was part of why he cultivated such an affluent air and also why he got along so well with victims and people from many different walks of life. He'd known Rafe's name didn't match the names of his parents on his emergency contact form. He'd never thought…

"We go see her every weekend we can," Henri said fiercely. "Rafe needed a ride one time when his car was in the shop so I figured it couldn't hurt to donate a little time. And I saw the way those kids looked at him. Like he was their hero because he treated every kid like a real person and not a disease or a diagnosis or a problem. He never acted like they were broken freaks who needed fixing."

"They're _not_ ," Brian said passionately. "They're different, and some of them need extra help, but there's nothing _wrong_ with being autistic or schizophrenic or depressed or stuck with some kind of phobia."

"Of course there isn't," Joel said staunchly.

"I don't know that I see where you're going with this, though," Simon said. "I mean, clearly you would have understood that Jim being a Sentinel wasn't something wrong with him, which I'm sure he would have appreciated…"

"Listen!" Henri snapped. "Angie _hears voices_ , but they're not imaginary ones! And she has to have special sheets and special foods because she's got these crazy allergies."

"Oh god," Jessie whispered, covering her mouth with both hands.

"All these years, and maybe Sandburg could have been helping her!" Brian exploded from his chair and clenched his fists. "Ellison never bothered to let the rest of us in on his little secret, and all this time Angie's been dealing with doctors and nurses when she should have been _here_!"

"This place wasn't here until last fall," Joel said, rising to face him.

"Yeah? Well it's here now!"

Simon turned to Henri, whose face was contorted in his own anger. He had often marveled at the odd partnership between Rafe and Brown, one with the look and attitude of a country-club boy and the other from the 'hood. One with a fuse so long there were some officers who still believed it was impossible to get him angry and the other who was as quick to rage as he was with a joke or a nickname. Simon had always considered them fire and water, with Brown's short temper and bright humor nicely balanced by Rafe's calm patience and unflappable nature.

 _But the flip-side of that_ , he thought wryly, _is that Henri gets worked up on his partner's behalf long before Brian would ever let that stuff out. Henri's acting like it's his sister, not his partner's. But then, Brown really doesn't have anybody else. Maybe Rafe's sister is the only family Brown's got after all_.

"Listen," Simon said firmly. "Talk to Ellison when he gets back if it'll make you feel better. But we can't undo the last few years. We can only go forward. And forward sounds like bringing your sister here as soon as possible to see if Sandburg and Hadji can help her."

"I'll contact Agent Fritz first thing in the morning," Jessie offered. "He'll help arrange the transfer if we have the guardian's permission."

"I'm the only one she's got," Brian said, suddenly weary. "Yeah, I'll try anything if it will get her out of there and give her a chance at a life without that sensory agony."

"We should try to reach Blair and Hadji now," Joel offered. "They're only a couple of hours away."

There was the sound of a throat clearing. Everyone turned to where Dmitri and Ivanna stood partway across the room. When they held the group's attention, Dmitri approached.

"I could not help but overhear part of your discussion. I have already attempted to reach the monastery to summon Professor Guide Blair as well as Hadji back to us."

Simon felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. "And?"

"I spoke to one of the brothers who knows Blair well. He said Blair and Hadji never arrived at all."

-==OOO==-

Jonny came to and immediately started coughing.

"Easy, young one. Breathe carefully."

Jonny was barely conscious of the voice or the strong arms holding him. His entire world narrowed to the effort to bring air into his lungs and force water out. But before more than a few breaths, he became aware of a biting cold. He shivered.

"You must move, Sentinel, or the cold will kill you."

Jonny hacked out another cough and finally forced his eyes to open and focus. "Bai Ming?"

"Yes. It is fortunate I found you so quickly."

"What happened?"

In spite of everything, Bai Ming's face contracted into a small, knowing smile. "You tell me, Sentinel."

Jonny fought the urge to roll his eyes and extended his senses carefully. Well, first of all, he was wet with absolutely frigid water. And, for that matter, he could hear water rushing everywhere. He could hear Jim shouting above him, ordering people to calm down and trying to get the Sentinels organized. Farther up, he could hear the screaming of panicked people – and a lot fewer of them than there should have been.

"I remember an explosion," Jonny said. "I lost my grip in the utility corridor and fell."

"That would be why your knee is sprained," Bai Ming answered. "I believe you struck it quite forcefully on your way down. But the narrowness of the area likely did much to interrupt and slow your fall."

"The explosion was mostly up high," Jonny continued, though, yes, now he was aware of a screaming pain in his knee, so he turned down the pain dial with a rough burst of will. "Lots of stuff collapsed. I can still smell the dust settling. And…we sprang a leak?"

"I believe the explosion weakened the already badly torn earth, particularly at the surface. Many cracks in the ground now spread to the ocean, and it is pouring in rapidly."

"We've got to get out of here!" Jonny cried, trying to lurch to his feet.

"I agree," Bai Ming nodded. "Have you the keys for these cells?"

Only then did Jonny realize he was on the sixth level down. And, alarmingly, the entire floor was already several inches deep in water that was pouring in from the elevator shaft. Jonny looked up at the Guide.

"You weren't in the utility area with us, so that means you came down the elevator shaft instead. You came for Yuri, didn't you?"

"Could I not?" he responded with a small shrug.

Jonny decided he didn't want to think about that. Not right now. Not when his clearest memory was of the voice of Doctor Zin threatening Hadji. Instead, he dug through his uniform pockets, grateful for the weight of it against the utter chill of the water.

"Here. You get them out. I'll figure out how to get back up to the surface."

"I would not recommend the elevator," Bai Ming commented. "The only reason the torrent of water is not worse is that the elevator itself blocks much of it like a boulder in a river. Once the elevator gives way, we will be flooded."

"So, back the way I came," Jonny nodded. He hobbled back towards the end of the hall where the utility corridor was. But he stopped as he reached the wall.

"Uh…"

Neither Jim nor Jonny had gotten all the way down to the bottom level before the explosion went off. But somehow there was a neatly punched hole in the drywall right to the column of wires and pipes and the little ladder for maintenance that ran all the way up. Jonny could even smell a bit of blood from where he'd obviously landed.

"Do I even want to know how this got here?" he shouted, pointing at the hole in the wall.

"You already know," Bai Ming's voice floated to him. "And if you have failed to understand, it is much more explicitly described in the book I gave you."

Jonny patted the breast pocket of his coat, finding that the journal was not lost, thankfully. However, it was wet. _I hope this thing can take some Arctic water_ , he prayed fervently.

"Jim!" he called.

"Jonny! You okay?" Jim yelled back.

"Could be worse," he answered honestly. "What's the situation?"

"Pretty bad," Jim answered. "The elevator shaft's flooding and it's pouring in fast. Now our little utility ladder is the only way out of here. And there's too much chaos going on up above for me to be able to tell whether or not it's a dead end."

"Well, we can't stay down here," Jonny said.

"Right. So we'll go as far as we can and hope your dad and Race aren't too far behind because I think we're going to need that alternate exit they were talking about."

Jonny looked over his shoulder. Bai Ming had released Yuri and was getting thoroughly hugged by his Sentinel, who also appeared to be lecturing him in a Chinese dialect Jonny couldn't place. There were still four more Sentinels to break out, though.

An ominous rumble sounded from the other end of the hallway.

Jonny dashed as best he could on his bad knee for Bai Ming, stealing the keys from his hand and rushing to the other cages. With his enhanced vision, he didn't have to waste time testing each – he could peer into the lock and identify the correct key on sight. Yuri was already pulling his Guide away from the elevator shaft and Jonny could hear Jim giving rapid, urgent orders as well.

Jonny had just unlocked the last cage when the elevator fell.

"Go up! Go up!" he screamed as a wave of freezing water swept in after the crushed elevator. Bai Ming was already climbing the ladder, and Yuri shoved the other Sentinels after him as quickly as he could, pushing Jonny into the shaft before himself, but they could only climb so fast, and there were many Sentinels above them on the ladder, shivering and fighting the numbness of the water.

Jonny heard the water rushing through the tiny hole below and into the narrow column.

 _We'll never even get the chance to freeze to death_ , he realized with horror. _We're going to drown instead_.

-==OOO==-

"No!" Blair shot up out of his chair with a shout.

"What is it?" Benton asked.

"I don't…I don't know," Blair ran a hand through his hair. "I wasn't even sleeping. I just…I saw…"

"You have had a vision," Hadji said intently. "What was it?"

"I…I was watching the jaguar. I mean Jim," he said, his heart pounding and refusing to calm. "It was with a whole bunch of other animals."

"Spirit animals?" Hadji asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Blair nodded. "I think I saw Jonny's fox, too."

"What was happening to them, Blair?" Benton pitched his voice to the soothing, patient tone he had developed as a father and used many times since on hysterical witnesses.

"They…they were drowning in a frozen river. And the bank was too steep. They couldn't get out." He gulped. "Oh man."

"How far out are we, Race?" Benton called.

"Twenty or thirty minutes," Race answered.

"Too long!" Blair exclaimed. "They're in trouble, _real_ trouble, _right now_! It'll be too late in twenty minutes!"

"Then we must do something," Hadji said. He rose from his own seat and moved to Blair's side. "Come with me."

"What can we do?" Blair asked, but he obediently followed Hadji back to the middle section of the jet and sat beside him on one of the bunks. Benton trailed after them and stood to one side.

"When we were in need once before, Jonny and I were able to create a miracle by drawing together our powers and creating the spirit guardian. I intend to do so again."

"Hadji, I specifically remember you telling me that summoning that thing took a Sentinel and a Guide to do and we are definitely short the Sentinel end of the equation!" Blair protested. "Plus there's the whole mystical concoction you guys threw in the fire to make it work."

"I can do nothing else but this until we arrive, and by then, as you said yourself, it may be too late. Perhaps our efforts will not have the same result, but that is not to say they will have no result at all," Hadji shot back. "We _must_ try."

"If I have learned anything in my years as a phenomenologist," Benton gently inserted, putting a hand on his son's shoulder and meeting Blair's eyes, "it is that there is more that can be achieved by human mind and will than we would ever imagine. Perhaps you cannot create the spirit guardian, but that does not mean that your efforts will be in vain."

"Okay, good point," Blair acknowledged. "I'll try anything if there's a chance it will make a difference." _I won't let you drown, Jim. I won't ever let you drown_.

"Then let us begin."


	12. Chapter 12

I'm going to go ahead and dedicate this chapter to the user Earthspark, who has really lifted my spirits this week with reviews and feedback. Since this is one of those really, really pivotal moments, I think it's fair to dedicate it to someone who is so invested right now!

By the way, there's a quote in this chapter that is generally attributed to Mother Teresa. It's been a while since Hadji had a good quote, and boy does it fit!

Enjoy!

* * *

At the first rumble from the elevator, Jim had changed his tactics. Instead of remaining on the fifth level down, encouraging the timid and troubled Sentinels to climb into the increasingly-crowded and narrow utility corridor, he bellowed at them to start moving and led the way. He skipped the ladder completely, grabbing onto the vertical piping that housed everything from the electrical wires to a thick air duct. The crash of the falling elevator motivated even the most reluctant of the prisoners to start climbing up at speed.

Jim focused on heading upwards; he knew if he paused to listen to the water rushing in, he wouldn't be able to keep from turning back to try to help those at the bottom. _Like Jonny_ , he knew with a chill that had nothing to do with the Arctic water dripping everywhere. But he could hear Jonny shouting, giving orders in seemingly every language he knew as he urged everyone to stay calm and keep climbing. He managed to get the Sentinels from the bottom level to follow Jim's example, climbing the center pole to reach those Sentinels least able to climb and taking them on their backs. Jim assumed Yuri himself was carrying his Guide, but when he glanced back to check, he was surprised to see the old Guide gamely making his own way up the ladder, though he had fallen back in the order to join his Sentinel.

As he got to the last few levels it became more crowded, but Jim forged ahead, biting out quick apologies as he navigated through the many Sentinels who had tried to squeeze into the narrow space. It reminded him of one of those shifting square puzzles he'd seen Brian Rafe give Sandburg as a challenge to keep him busy during a stakeout, the kind where you moved squares in and out of the single empty space to rearrange the pattern. Sandburg had solved it in only three minutes. In the same way, Jim ducked into any space he could find, Sentinels above and around him shifting to make more room for him to continue upwards.

The roar of the water below was more motivation than Jim needed. He knew that water accelerates when running through a narrow channel, and if it weren't for the holes punched at each level to drain it off, they would have been drowned already. Still, Jim sensed they had a matter of minutes before the utility shaft filled with the freezing water.

Emeline's voice came to him. "Jim! I can hear Jim coming!"

With a reckless lunge, he jumped to where a part of the wall had cracked in the explosions and used it to pull himself up to where the door to the first level below the surface had been. It wasn't so much a door now as a jagged hole, the door-frame bent and twisted.

"Status!" he barked in English.

"We're okay," Hasna said from farther away. "But the ceiling collapsed. It's only the big equipment down here that's holding everything up."

"Come start pulling people out," he said, and those Sentinels who had been first up the shaft came into view from around a pile that was part crushed supplies and part fallen beams and cement. "I don't think we have to worry too much about a fight now."

"No, we have heard few survivors but ourselves, and they are lost already," the old man said, reaching him and giving him a hand – the last yard or two of the shaft was almost devoid of any useful hand- or foot-holds, which was why the climbing Sentinels had been bottle-necked. "The problem is water."

Jim cleared out of the doorway to let the others start yanking people up out of the corridor and tipped his head to listen. Yes, he could isolate the sounds of running water all around him. He strode to where Emeline and Hasna were crouched under a massive crane with some of the oldest and weakest of the Sentinels. The floor near them was wet.

"The worst crack is up there," Hasna pointed, and even in the near-pitch darkness Jim could see well enough to follow her gesture. "The water pouring into the elevator shaft is mostly blocked from us, but that ceiling won't hold for much longer."

Jim could hear the cracking of the cement himself. _When it goes, we're going to be swamped. Maybe ten minutes before this whole area fills up if we can't find a way to escape_.

"Is there any other way out of here other than the elevator?" he asked.

"We don't know," Emeline shook her head.

"Well go look!" Jim yelled. But at Emeline's expression, he froze. He opened his senses and focused. "Hasna?"

"She fell," Emeline said with fear. "She fell and…" Jim smelled blood…and something that wasn't water. Or, rather, it wasn't Arctic water. It was Hasna's.

"This is _not_ a good time for this!" Jim felt like kicking something.

"Not my idea!" Hasna growled.

"Okay," Jim forced himself to calm down. "Emeline, you stay with Hasna and just, I don't know. Stall, okay? Help is coming."

"So is my child!"

"Well tell him or her to wait until Doctor Quest can deal with it! I need everybody else to start either getting people out of that shaft or working on a way out of here that won't get us crushed!"

But even as he said it and started moving around the dim, destroyed space himself, he wondered if they would even have the time to find an answer before the waters came.

-==OOO==-

Once again at the steps of the Temple, Blair and Hadji paused before it.

"Now what?" Blair asked.

Hadji turned to him with a frown. "You ask me as if I have all the answers."

"Don't you?" Blair threw his arms out in exasperation. "You're way better at this mystical shaman stuff than I am."

"I am merely more familiar with the astral," Hadji shook his head. "I know how this plane of existence works, which has given me an uncommon advantage thus far, I admit." Then he met Blair's eyes. "Does your heart not tell you what comes next?"

Blair was about to shoot back a denial, but stopped. A tiny whirl of something blazed in his chest.

Hadji smiled. "I thought so." He gestured. "Lead the way, my friend."

Blair nodded and began to walk into the Temple. He bypassed the room to one side that he remembered from Mexico, the room of a Sentinel's visions. Instead, he turned down the central corridor and deeper into the labyrinth within, led by instinct that made the place seem so familiar it could have been the loft or Rainier. He stopped before a set of stone steps that led to an open archway.

"In there," he said. When Blair set his foot on the first of the stone steps, it glowed.

"That is a good sign, I suppose," Hadji said with a small smile. He moved to Blair's side and they ascended together. Each step that they touched glowed brighter than the last, so that while the first shone with a dusky light, the seventh step was pure luminance given solid form. They stood before the archway, which also glowed brilliantly and steadily.

"Let's go." Blair felt no more fear, no uncertainty. Whatever waited beyond this door, he _knew_ it was his place.

They stepped through the archway. The light – all light? – vanished.

"Look!" Hadji's voice sounded from the darkness.

The darkness was not uniform. It seemed to move. As Blair stared at it, the darkness started to break apart, as a cloud slowly evaporates, becoming thinner and thinner. And what was left after the dark was an endless, vast sea of tiny pinpricks of color and light.

"I believe," Hadji said softly, "if we could stand in the space between galaxies, this is what we would see."

It was infinite, and it was alive.

And somehow Blair knew what to do next. Having come to this place and having witnessed the seeds of life, because how else could he understand what they were? He knew what to do.

With the merest half-formed thought, the space around them _bent_ and they were able to see Jim and Jonny. Like being inside a box of television screens, in every direction was an angle and a view of the facility, the Sentinels, the rising water, the collapsed structure. And still the tiny seeds of color and light were there, in the folds of shadows and just behind the images.

"We must first stop the water," Hadji said.

Blair knew he was beside him, but he couldn't really perceive Hadji as a corporeal person here, not the way he had back in the Temple and in the jungle. Hadji was just a presence, bright and strong and aware at his side.

"You're right," Blair agreed. "Especially there." He didn't need to point; "there" could only mean the deluge that was steadily climbing up the utility corridor, already so high the last Sentinel with his Guide at his side was fighting to keep his arms and shoulders above it.

"Then quickly," Hadji said.

The image began to change. Blair could feel Hadji changing it, rewriting it, as though he could touch the fabric of reality and adjust the pattern with his will. _And, to some extent, he can_ , he realized. _And so can I_.

Hadji was working to try to keep the water from rising, and it worked for a few precious moments, but it was quickly apparent that this was not the correct path. While pushing the water back did slow its progression and allow the Sentinels to climb out of it, Hadji could not hold it all. Blair leaned his will to the problem and felt the water fighting to escape, every molecule trying to wiggle against their influence. There was just too much of it to pause all of it at once.

And then the words fell between them as though drawn from their minds: _I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples_.

"Cast a stone across the waters!" they both cried in triumph.

With a will, they went to work.

-==OOO==-

Jonny had all his senses turned as high as he dared, climbing up the wet, frozen ladder with numb hands. Many of the Sentinels had gotten pretty high in the utility shaft before the flooding, but those near the bottom were drenched in the Arctic water and the cold was well past biting through their clothing, pulling groans of pain from even the bravest souls. Even so, he clearly heard the sudden intake of breath from Bai Ming below him. An instant later, he actually paused to look down.

"It…it's not possible," he said, seeing his breath and feeling his teeth chatter.

"It is," Bai Ming said. His voice was low and its tone inscrutable.

Jonny focused his vision and, sure enough, he could confirm that it was not just his imagination. The water below, racing up the corridor far faster than the Sentinels were able to escape it, had paused. And after a few moments, he actually blinked. The water which had always carried in it chunks of dirt and ice from the surface seemed to have a thin layer of ice growing across it. Jonny could _see_ the ice expanding as he watched.

He felt a pang in his chest, as sharp as if he'd been punched. "It's Hadji, isn't it?"

"Yes, your Guide," Bai Ming said from below. "And the wolf as well."

"Blair?"

"They have the true souls of Guides, but they are young and foolish," Bai Ming was shaking his head. "Their effort is admirable, but they cannot succeed this way. It will be too much for them."

"What do we do?" Jonny asked.

"Climb faster!" Yuri ordered. "We must leave this area before their work is in vain." Then, so softly only his Guide and Jonny would hear unless someone else were really listening for it, he whispered, "And then, Ming?"

"And then, my heart, our time will come. Which you already know. You have known since before you arrived here."

The shiver that ran through Jonny had nothing to do with the cold this time. He forced himself to accelerate his movements, pushing his legs to dig into the rungs of the ladder faster and higher, almost swinging upwards. When the ladder rungs vanished and the walls were cracked, he nimbly transferred his weight to the center column and crept a bit higher. Above, one of the Sentinels from Yuri's level waited, arm outstretched. Jonny grabbed for the hand, kicking off with his feet and half jumping to the doorway above. He turned back.

The ice below had solidified. The shaft was creaking as the stone and metal bent around the ice as it expanded with the freezing, and Jonny could feel an odd sort of warmth – or, rather, a lack of cold – as though the ice that formed was actually casting any residual heat out.

 _That's exactly what it's doing_! he realized. _Somehow, Blair and Hadji are ripping the energy out of the water, and as the energy goes away, it freezes. But how_?

He was broken from his thoughts when Yuri appeared, Bai Ming waiting for him. Yuri made the transition to the center column first, reaching back to lend a hand to his Guide. But Bai Ming smiled indulgently and climbed to the column himself with his own strength.

 _If the guy could get out of that ten-foot glass cage without help even though Jim and I were standing right there, I'm not surprised he can handle this_ , Jonny thought.

Jonny reached for Bai Ming while the Sentinel at his side offered a hand to Yuri. They pulled the pair up almost simultaneously. Jonny wanted to ask the Guide what he and Yuri had been talking about, but Yuri waved him on.

"Go. More important is our next step."

So Jonny honed in on where Jim was moving in the vast, ruined space and he headed over there, careful to avoid knocking into any precarious stacks of debris or any working Sentinels.

"What now?" he asked as he arrived at Jim's side.

"We gotta find a way out of here somehow," he answered. "But it's looking like that whole dome came down in the explosion. There could be yards and yards of steel beams between us and the surface."

Jonny didn't need to be reminded of the pounding, flooding water still rushing in from the ocean, slowly filling up the facility.

Suddenly he noticed a smell. "Jim, what –?"

"Dial it down, Jonny," Jim interrupted him. "Trust me."

Jonny obeyed, but he still asked, "Where is it coming from?"

"Up there," Jim pointed.

Jonny looked up and opened his vision until he saw an arm. He gulped. "Jim…"

"You already know all of those smells. Blood, bile, bone, human waste. And a few other things that have an odor all their own when they hit the air after being inside a body." Jim wasn't looking at Jonny, though is words were spoken gently. "Just be grateful they were crushed. They died quickly."

"Did anybody, you know, not…?"

"Yes," Jim affirmed. "Including Sokoloff. The others…did what they could."

And Jonny understood. Certainly everyone on the surface would have been killed by the dome coming down, and those who had rushed to the first level to deal with the escaping Sentinels had had a slightly better chance, but only the Sentinels could have perceived exactly where things were falling and which places would survive the collapse. He couldn't help it – he stretched out his senses. When he at last identified the distinctive scent of strong aftershave Sokoloff wore, he listened closely. No heartbeat.

"It was easier that way," Jim said softly. "He was crushed from the pelvis down. There was nothing anyone could do but tranq him to end his suffering."

Jonny's head shot up. "What about the guards we left on third? And the others…?"

Jim shook his head. "Listen, kid. I was on five when the explosion hit. You were above me. We'd already cleaned out the fifth floor. Do you hear anybody alive down there now?"

Jonny listened and, feeling sick, shook his head.

"It could have been the explosion. All the charges were on the other side of the building where the water is coming in now, the part closer to the ocean. We…we didn't have time to go back." Jim closed his eyes and Jonny didn't need to be a Sentinel to hear the guilt in his voice. Roughly, he continued, "It's triage, kiddo. You save the most people you can with the resources you have. You can't throw away time and effort on a lost cause when it could benefit more than just one person. And there's no telling if any of them would have joined us or if they would have tried to kill us in that shaft."

Jonny sighed. "I just…"

"You hoped for more. I get it," Jim nodded. "But right now, focus on the people you _can_ help. Our people need you right now."

Jonny forced himself to dash away the thoughts of the soldiers with whom he had spent the last week. Even though every one of them would have executed him if they'd known his identity, even though every one had been more than happy to imprison and torture Sentinels – Jonny couldn't quite hate them so much he didn't wish they weren't dead.

 _Hadji would say that means I've taken a step towards enlightenment or something_ , he thought wryly. Then, at the reminder, "Jim! Hadji and Blair are doing something!"

"I know," Jim said as he shook his head. "I heard."

"Shifu Bai says it won't hold." _That it will be too much for them_ , he couldn't say.

"Then stop talking and start finding some way out of here," Jim said, not unkindly, but pointedly. "We've gotta pull off our own miracle before our pair of _idiot_ Guides do something we'll regret."

-==OOO==-

There was a presence behind them.

Blair wasn't quite sure how something could be "behind" anybody in a space outside space since "behind" was relative and there was nothing to relate. But, nonetheless, that's what it was.

"You are strong," came an unfamiliar voice.

Blair turned his attention to the presence. It was an odd situation, as he wasn't sure he was properly seeing with his eyes anymore, and so what he perceived was not merely visual in nature. He could grasp the image of what was, on the surface, probably an older man. He could also, surprisingly, see another form – a raccoon dog – which he assumed was the man's spirit animal. But above and beyond this, the presence was vibrant, deep, and unbelievably wise.

"You're a shaman," Hadji said.

"And a Guide," the presence answered. "You are gifted to be able to reach this place without the help of your Sentinels. Many, even the strongest Guides, cannot cross through the Seventh Door without their Sentinel waiting to anchor them."

As if his words had summoned it, a pair of images appeared, one hidden within the other. In the world where Jonny and Jim were trying to find an escape from a freezing tomb, two older men sat, back-to-back, with their eyes closed. But within this, there were the lighted steps of the Temple. Upon the seventh, the Sentinel stood, his back to the doorway through which Blair and Hadji had passed as though he were guarding it. And there was a clear connection to the Guide, as solid and real as if they were holding onto one another at the place where the Temple ended and eternity began.

"Can you help us?" Blair asked. "We're doing all we can, but…"

"And therein lies your problem," the Guide said with the sound of a smile. "If you stopped trying to do so much, you could accomplish more. But that is the way of inexperience – if you stopped trying to hold onto everything, you would be happier, too."

Blair registered the words, aware that there was something in there he needed, but he pushed it aside for later.

"Clearly you are more comfortable here than we," Hadji said. "What do you suggest?"

"That depends," the Guide said, "on you. What are you willing to risk?"

"Everything," Hadji and Blair said together. "Anything to save our Sentinels."

"Then anything is possible. But you may be asked to pay the price for it."

The Guide seemed to look back, and suddenly the doorway guarded by the Sentinel was visible. "Not without me," he said stubbornly. "Don't you listen to him. No matter what he says about Guides, there is nothing stronger than a Guide and Sentinel united, not even _three_ Guides."

"Yes, this is true," the Guide acknowledged. "But you have little ability to join us beyond the Seventh Door, Yuri."

"Does he have to?" Blair asked. "Hadji and Jonny manifested a big creature out of energy and we hadn't even seen this place before."

"What you speak of is known to me, but we cannot invoke it. There is no time to manifest such power without the keys that make the way easier."

"The herbs," Hadji realized. "And the drumming and the chant. That implies you can do it without those things, but they ease the way. Such as being able to unlock a gate rather than having to climb over it."

"Precisely, young eagle. As you already know, time is very short."

"Can _we_ make up the difference?" Blair asked. "If you and your Sentinel just need a boost, maybe we can provide that for you. Then you guys could go do the spirit guardian thing."

A tremor passed through the Guide like a chill wind, but he said, "Yes. If this is your choice."

"It is," Hadji affirmed. "We are at your disposal."

"Then bring your spirits into harmony with mine. A Guide's power is to Know and to Change. A Sentinel's power is to Know and to Stand. United, there is nothing a Sentinel and Guide cannot do."

-==OOO==-

"How long until we arrive?" Benton yelled, unwilling to move a step from where Hadji and Blair were slumped together on the bunk. He had given up on any pretense and now leaned over them both, a hand on each of their chests. It was the only evidence he could believe that their hearts still beat and their lungs kept breathing. They were so still.

"Ten minutes in the air and a few to figure out how to land!" Race shouted back.

Benton looked back and thought of his sons. One as motionless as death before him. One in grave danger battling the elements and the evil plans of his worst enemy. And…hang the difference in age and life and time – none of it had ever mattered. Blair, like Jessie, was his to protect now. Jim was as much one of Benton Quest's family as Race.

Benton was not a praying man, but still he whispered, "Please don't let me lose my family. Please let them be safe. _All_ of them."

-==OOO==-

A tug of strange awareness was his only warning. "Everybody look out!" Jonny cried.

An instant later, the dark space was suddenly filled with light and a new noise drowned out all of the rushing water and cracking ice and cement. If a heart-beat were not a pulse but a continuous sound, that would well describe the odd tone that began to echo in the ruined space.

But the sound of bending metal quickly overpowered it.

"What is _that_?" Jim demanded, sprinting from where he had been monitoring the crack with the gulf of water behind it to where Jonny stood near the weakest Sentinels and the two involved in Hasna's labor.

"It's Yuri and Bai Ming!" Jonny realized.

"How can you tell?" Jim asked.

"I'm not really sure," Jonny said, shrugging. "But it is."

Jonny remembered the vast tawny eagle that had fought the flames outside the SELF lodge the previous fall. Simon had told him that before it was an eagle it had been a fox-eagle hybrid as his own spirit animal had mixed with Hadji's. And he vividly remembered the creature created when the medicine man had used Ngama's spirit animal. This was different.

An amorphous, luminous shape had burst into existence beside where the Sentinel and Guide sat. At times Jonny thought he saw the image of Yuri's tiger, at others Bai Ming's raccoon dog, but mostly he just saw something vaguely four-legged and very large – the details were lost in the shifting light. As it moved, it grew in size until what had begun as a form a couple of yards long was on its way to ten times that. It stood, bracing its back legs on either side of the Sentinel and Guide, stretching upward. When its glowing front legs hit the collapsed ceiling, there was a squeal of tortured metal and the entire ceiling began to move upwards.

"Everybody clear out!" Jim ordered sharply. "Get under shelter!"

A blast of freezing air followed a sudden shaft of light into the dim pocket underneath the debris. It was through layers and layers of broken beams and torn concrete, but the sky was there.

And then there was a horrible _crack_ from the other end of the space.

-==OOO==-

Blair and Hadji had sunk deeply into the powers that flowed between them and the Sentinel and Guide, so it was hard to know which spoke or thought or communed.

"The spirit guardian is digging them out, but the building cannot take the strain. The water is about to break free. They may still drown."

"Can we hold it again without abandoning the spirit guardian as well? Can we hold it back until they escape?"

"We can, but at what cost?"

"Does it really matter?"

"No."

-==OOO==-

Jim was turning in horror to where the last wall was collapsing as the space broke apart and the torrent of water ripped free when he was struck with a pain so sharp he thought he'd been shot. Beside him, Jonny cried out.

"What is it?" Emeline jumped from her place at Hasna's side in panic.

One of the other Sentinels pointed. "Oh, God above, look!"

The water had broken through the barrier – and it had stopped. As surely as if it had run into a wall, it had stopped.

"Sandburg, what the _hell_ are you doing?" Jim said, his throat tight and his chest on fire.

"Hadji…Hadji don't do it," Jonny moaned. " _Please_ , Hadji, please don't do it!"

"How do you know what they're doing?" Jim couldn't stay on his feet against the onslaught of pain, and he leaned precariously against what had once been part of a drill.

"I don't know," Jonny answered, both hands curled over his chest as he fought to keep from falling over. "But they're…they're stretching themselves too thin. They're doing too much and it…"

"Blair told me Hadji said they can't die from this now, not unless we die with them. That we can't…can't die without each other," Jim managed. But he lost his footing and slid to the ground. Jonny was about to topple over but Jim managed to get an arm out and bring the kid down to land in a heap at his side.

Jonny looked up, his blue eyes bright with pain and fear. "And what exactly do you think is happening to us now?"

-==OOO==-

Yuri felt a tug on his awareness. He couldn't split his attention away from digging to the surface as the spirit creature, but a wash of Bai Ming's support and power came to him, easily sliding into the gap his consciousness left. Where they met was a place beyond bodies, beyond voices. It was merely oneness.

"Ming?"

"They are not enough, my own. Without their Sentinels to help them, the wolf and the eagle will die and Jonny and Jim with them."

"You knew this would happen."

"So did you."

"Yes, but...Ming, my vision was clear."

"As was mine, Yuri. Our time is over. We must use what is left to us to open the way forward for the others."

"Then my only regret is of our bonding, my heart, and that you must die with me. If it were not for the eternity you have promised, Ming, I would burn my soul to nothing to free you from this fate. I wish you could be where you could live on."

"Where doesn't matter. I live on because I am with you, and we shall remain as one no matter what next step we take."

"But if not for me, your steps would lead you back into the world and not…on."

"It is not your decision. I chose you as my Sentinel long ago, Yuri. We are one and always shall be."

There was a pause and Yuri could feel his Guide, his partner, his love for their long lifetime together, smiling. "What is it, Ming?"

"We are already beyond the Seventh Door. Why should we fear death when we are standing at its feet?"

"I thought you wished to see our home once more."

"I do. And so we shall. If a Sentinel can see the unseeable in life, what can one do when free of the body's limitations?"

"Have you no regrets at all?"

"Perhaps one."

"What is it?"

"That I have had no time with the wolf and the eagle. Those Guides are powerful, far beyond myself. But they have little knowledge, though their hearts lead them well. The Sentinels carry my book, but it will not be enough. They have so much to learn."

"Try not to worry, love. If they are true Guides, they will find the way. It is how you all are made. How else could you lead such stubborn Sentinels down paths no one can see?"

"I know this. You asked for my regret, and it is that our time has come so soon. Of course they will endure. They are Guides connected to strong Sentinels. There is nothing they cannot do. But the way will be hard."

"And it will also be joyous if it is at all like our own."

"Yes, there is that."

"Will they understand? Will they lose themselves trying to prevent what we must do?"

"No. The eagle's mind is open and the wolf's heart is listening. They will hear my will and comprehend."

"Hold fast to me, Guide. I do not want to lose you in the void."

"What void, Sentinel? We are together. There is all of creation for us now."

-==OOO==-

"Benton! Doc, you better get up here!"

Benton hesitated for a moment, looking at the two young men who were, if possible, even more still than before. And they were becoming alarmingly cool to the touch as well. But he'd already attempted to wake them, gently, with no response.

"Be safe," he told them firmly. Then he strode to the cockpit. "What is it, Race?"

"Tell me that I'm not seeing what I'm seeing!" Race pointed.

Benton felt the shock of seeing the ruined secret facility, the dome having collapsed violently. Whatever charges had been laid to bring the place to the ground in one swift blow had been expertly placed for maximum damage. The steel beams and plastic panes of the dome's windows were littered in a thick, dense pile, those that hadn't been scattered by the rushing torrent of water that swarmed in a deluge from a newly-cut channel to the sea on the near side.

But beyond that, a point of light was rising out of the wreckage. As Benton and Race circled, the latter piloting to a messy landing on the side of the facility away from the ocean where the ground seemed more stable, they watched a featureless form digging out from beneath the debris, shoving aside steel as though it were straw.

"Is it our boys?" Race asked.

"I don't know," Benton shook his head in wonder. "I don't…I just don't know." Then, with a little more of his usual intellectual perception, he added, "But, given the amount of effort being expended by that being, I hope not. Putting out fires is one thing – hefting that stuff takes a great deal more energy. And the last time…"

"It almost killed Jonny and Hadji," Race finished. He shook himself. "Come on, Doc. We gotta get down there."

-==OOO==-

Blair and Hadji felt terrible. They were beyond exhausted now, beyond caring about the pain. They were curled together, huddling their spirits as though combined they could withstand the endless drain of it better.

They were dying. They could feel it. And dragging their Sentinels with them.

But if they gave up, their Sentinels would die anyway. At least as long as they held out, there was a _chance_.

They buried themselves in each others' hearts, longing for something that would give them the endurance to manage. But though their energy was being drained away, drained so hard it should have turned them inside out, their wills never faltered. They could have given up and stopped the slow death, but then their Sentinels would die. No matter how hideous it felt, they could not turn away.

"As I said, young ones. You try to do too much, and you risk losing everything. If you stopped trying to hold onto everything, you would have something left."

Blair and Hadji would have blinked tiredly if they had eyes in this place of unreality. One or the other or both of them – it hardly mattered – replied, "What else can we do but this?"

"For all your power, you are not here with your Sentinels. You have nothing to ground you, nothing to feed you strength when your own runs out. That is why Guides need Sentinels. A Guide may move the earth, but they will be lost. It is the Sentinel who keeps them close and draws them back and replenishes what is given."

The presence of the older Guide surrounded them, and Blair and Hadji could feel it, could sense it so strongly they could have wrapped their hands around it, the bond that led back to a bright strength and permanence in the shifting, unreal world of the mind and spirit.

"You have gone too far," the Guide said. "You will suffer for it a little, but if you have courage and if your Sentinels are patient, you will not be pulled away."

"So what do we do now?"

"You must rest now, before you are lost. Rest, my brothers. My Sentinel and I shall finish what you have begun."

"You'll die. It's too much," Blair and Hadji knew.

"All must die. The gift of a Sentinel and Guide is to Know, and this we Know. It is as it should be."

Warmth surrounded them. Blair and Hadji shuddered in that welcome embrace, still entwining themselves against the nothingness that ravaged at the edges of their spirits. But the warmth was stronger and slowly the nothingness wore away.

"Take care of your Sentinels, young ones. And they will protect you."

Then another voice rose. "And take care of our people. They will look to you and yours now."

Blair and Hadji found the energy to answer, "We will, we promise. Thank you for our lives. Go in peace."

An earthly warmth joined the spiritual warmth and Hadji and Blair felt themselves separating, becoming whole, becoming aware. Realizing they were independent beings. But connected. Together, but not the same.

And holding hands.

Blair and Hadji opened their eyes, breathing in deep with wonder and fear and a profound sense of loss as the Dragonfly touched down on the snow.

-==OOO==-

The pain paralyzing Jim and Jonny faded – slowly at first, then more quickly as the moments passed. They were able to stand up in time to witness the spirit guardian dissolve into a cloud of light with no form at all. The way to the surface had been totally cleared, though it would not be an easy climb.

Jim looked at the nebulous energy which swirled around the area once, twice. On the third pass, he knew what was coming before it happened. From the expressions around him, so too did the other Sentinels.

At the last pass around the area, every waiting wave of water, the floods held back invisibly even as they towered waiting to crash into this small, preserved space, froze solid. Jim could hear the ice cracking yards back, a cocoon of ice protecting their sanctuary from the flooding.

All but one place.

Jim put a hand on Jonny's shoulder as the boy bit back a sob. For the water had intruded far enough on the other side to swamp over where Yuri and Bai Ming had sat. The ice there had frozen into a rough stairway up through the hole above to freedom. Within the glass-clear ice, their bodies were unmoving and entombed.

"How? Why?" Jonny whispered.

"I don't know," Jim shook his head. "But we both know they gave their lives to save us and get us out." _And probably to save our idiotic Guides_ , he added to himself, though the look on Jonny's face suggested he had the same suspicion. "We have to honor that choice and use what they gave us while we can."

"Right," Jonny nodded, swiping away some tears with a wet sleeve and bending to start lifting one of the elderly Sentinels to her feet. Jim started moving people towards their escape.

"Jonny! Jim!" came the shout amplified by a powerful loudspeaker. Nearly all the Sentinels jumped – they'd been so caught up in Yuri and Bai Ming and their sacrifice, they had missed the approach of the jet as well as its passengers.

"Dad! We're here!" Jonny yelled, knowing the Dragonfly would pick it up. "We're okay!"

"We're coming down!" Race called back. "We're bringing supplies. What do you need?"

"Lots of ropes to get people out of here," Jim answered. "And maybe a sling or a stretcher for a few."

"It's a precarious climb. And it won't be stable for long," Benton said. "Start moving as fast as you can."

Jim opted to send Jonny out first, as much to get his mind off the two who had given their lives to build an escape as to have a good person on point while he organized the rest of the survivors. Jonny scurried up the icy steps, then clambered over piles of jagged plastic. Thankfully, the hole dug by the spirit guardian was at the edge of the debris, so there were only a few yards before he was clear.

Jonny suddenly realized that he was still wearing his uniform – and only his uniform, with no winter coat – and he was soaked. He started to shake.

"It is all right, my friend," came a wonderful voice. "I have you."

Jonny was wrapped in a thick, heated blanket. He looked up to Hadji's eyes and was surprised to find that he felt like crying. "Hadji."

"You are too wet to help," Hadji said, utterly sensible. "Go into the Dragonfly and prepare the cargo area for the others. We will handle this."

Jonny started to protest, but Hadji actually slipped out of his grasp and turned, following Blair and Race towards the hole. Jonny took a step to follow and found himself engulfed in a hug. "Dad?"

"He's right, son. If you stay, you'll get hypothermia." Benton squeezed his son tightly. "I'm so glad you're all right, Jonny."

"It was them, dad," he said, his voice breaking. "First Blair and Hadji and then Bai Ming and Yuri…they…"

"I have some idea," Benton said softly. "But none of them want you to stand here while your hair freezes. Get into the Dragonfly. From what Blair and Hadji said, we are about to have a number of guests who will need our best."

Jonny nodded wordlessly. He wanted to argue, wanted to go back to help the other Sentinels, but there was such a pleading look in his father's eyes he could not deny it. What he mostly wanted was to grab Hadji and demand a whole bunch of answers and then hug him senseless and then sleep for a while.

 _There will be time for that later_ , he thought to himself. But as he turned to the Dragonfly to do what he should, he called back over his shoulder, "Hey dad?"

"Yes?"

"How many babies have you delivered?"

" _What_?"

-==OOO==-

In the end, there were 29 new Sentinels aboard the Dragonfly when Race launched back into the sky. Of the 33 who had been held captive and not counting Yuri, two of the Sentinels had been crushed when the explosion collapsed the first subterranean level and one had been caught in one of the sudden floods. Even at its most well-stocked, the Dragonfly didn't have supplies for so many, but they made do. While Race winged away from Russian airspace (putting in a hasty call to Agent Fritz for emergency entry into the United States), Hadji and Blair made as much tea, coffee, hot chocolate, and broth as was in the little kitchen. They also tore apart everything they could to offer everyone some scrap of warm, dry material, be it a sheet or a shirt or an emergency blanket or the silk of a parachute. The cargo area of the Dragonfly was lined with Sentinels leaning wearily against one another, sharing blankets and relief. Most of them were too tired for their senses to even notice the sound and feel of the supersonic jet around them. Blair offered a mild sedative derived from Chamomile to any Sentinel who needed it to rest, but most dropped off without help.

Benton had no illusion of privacy, but Emeline helped him rig something with a tarp so Hasna could go into labor behind some kind of screen while the pair of Guides hurried busily between the galley and the cargo area. He had, in fact, assisted in an emergency birth before, and he was a doctor besides. Emeline proved an able assistant, handing him things as he needed them and giving Hasna something to cling to throughout the waves of pain.

Jim and Jonny wanted to be helping their Guides – when they didn't want to be demanding answers and assuring themselves that their Guides were all right – but their own exhaustion caught up with them. They were almost insensible, asleep in a corner long before the last round of soup had made it to the Sentinels who needed it.

Through it all, Blair and Hadji were steady, readily making the crowd of Sentinels in their care comfortable and easing their way. Those who were still coping with over-medication or simply overwhelmed by the stress they soothed with every trick they possessed. Those who were frightened, they reassured and explained as much as they could about themselves, the rescue, and SELF.

They did it all without exchanging a single word between themselves.

Four hours later, a baby's cry echoed throughout the jet, waking all but the most heavily sedated or exhausted of the Sentinels. In a few moments, Benton called for Jim and Jonny to join him, their Guides sliding silently into their wake.

"Hasna has someone she wishes you to meet," he said tiredly, but smiling.

On one of the bunks, Hasna positively glowed with relief and joy. "I have called her Yasmin, in thanks for my freedom and the miracle of your help."

She held the tiny baby out to Jim, who took it gingerly, blinking in wonder at the miracle who looked at him and cooed.

"She's beautiful," Jonny told Hasna with a heartfelt smile.

Hadji and Blair exchanged a glance and said nothing. Thankfully, their Sentinels were too tired to notice or realize for now.

 _But it won't last_ , they both thought ruefully. _What an interesting conversation that will be_.


	13. Chapter 13

A couple of things here:

First, the last chapter of Arc 3 will go up on Sunday. After that, there will be regular updates of what I've always considered to be "Arc 3.5." Rather than a full-length novel, this will be a series of oneshots that will span the next two-ish years. The oneshots will fill out some characters, a few developments, and lay the groundwork for the big Arc 4 climax to come. I'm ridiculously proud of them. At least one or two are some of the finest (and maybe funniest) writing I've done in this 'verse. So definitely stick around!

Second, this chapter is going to explain a few things a few of you made note of – I hope it meets with your approval even if you didn't see it coming! Arc 3 isn't done yet, but we did need to wrap up a few loose ends before we could have the happy ending. Well, "happy ending" being relative when we all know the battle isn't really over, even if it's going to be calm for a while.

Enjoy!

* * *

It was late morning in Cascade when the Dragonfly was met at the small, private airfield by a charter bus recently purchased for SELF through Race's many connections. Agent Fritz himself arranged to be on site to hand documents to each of the newly-arrived Sentinels offering them temporary visas and the forms to fill out if they wished to consider a more long-term home in the country. For all but a few of the Sentinels, the whole situation was still too unbelievable; they accepted the offer and the documents and followed numbly where they were led, whereas those who were not shell-shocked were no less grateful for a safe place to recover.

"I have a theory about this," Blair said to Jim and the Quests as they watched the others board. "When everything was going on and that place was falling apart, nobody zoned, did they? Or had any kind of sensory chaos except the ones who were already trapped in their senses to start with?"

"No," Jim shook his head, brow furrowing. "I guess I didn't even notice."

"I think it's partly that any Sentinels who had training, which is most of them from what you've said," Blair nodded at the crowd, "learn to control their senses almost perfectly in emergency situations. Think about it. No government wants a bunch of Sentinels who freeze in a fight or something. So they'd learn to have excellent control when the situation went sideways. It would be the mundane living where they'd struggle."

"That fits what Ivanna has told us as well," Hadji agreed.

"What about the ones like Hasna and Emeline and the others who were never in a program, though?" Jonny wanted to know.

"Instinct," Jim said softly. "Sentinels are meant to protect the tribe, to fight, to cope with a disaster better than most people. Our brains are wired for a solid response to danger."

Blair grinned at him. "So you _have_ been listening to me after all!"

"Hard to miss, Darwin." He smiled and scruffed his partner's head.

"Still seems kind of suspect to me," Race put in. "Although I can't fault the timing."

"It may not only be the biology and training and instincts of the Sentinels themselves," Hadji said with a faraway look. "There was more occurring than any of us truly knew. Who is to say what other influence our elder Guide may have employed?"

Before anyone could respond, one of the Sentinels from the fifth floor cried out in pain when another plane revved up the neighboring runway and screamed into the sky. Blair and Hadji both abandoned the others and sprinted over to the woman, one each taking her hands before she clawed at her ears and gently bringing them down, leading her onto the bus.

Jim frowned. "Jonny, you noticing it?"

"Huh?"

"You mean Blair and Hadji?" Benton asked. At Jim's nod, he nodded also. "Something has changed in them."

"What do you mean?" Jonny asked, turning his senses up and focusing them on his Guide. But he could detect nothing out of the ordinary from the heart-beat or breathing and other rhythms of his brother's body.

"Can't really pin it down," Jim said.

"Well, they sure weren't shirking on the Guiding," Race offered with a shrug.

"No, nothing like that," Benton shook his head. "But...they both move as though they are a bit in a dream. And they've barely looked at one another since they woke up."

"We'll find out what happened with them when we get to the lodge," Jim promised.

Jonny just nodded, following as the others began to move towards the bus as the last Sentinels climbed aboard. Agent Fritz was already on his way back to his local headquarters to do whatever federal bureaucratic work had come out of the sudden influx of foreign nationals, so it was just them on the bus. Race took the driver's seat, Benton right behind him. Jim and Jonny both looked to sit with their Guides, but Hadji and Blair had installed themselves in the back surrounded by Sentinels who leaned to them for quiet comfort. Jim and Jonny were left with the front seats, exchanging a determined glance. Their Guides were certainly devious enough to be deliberately avoiding them, but that would not be permitted to last.

The resolution was promptly driven from their minds when they pulled up in front of the lodge.

"Uh...Simon?" Jim asked, climbing off the bus and stopping at the array of people waiting out front. "What's going on?"

"Eric?" Jonny almost stumbled off the last step, saved only by Race's quick grab. He had barely righted himself when a yipping blur zoomed through the obstacles of legs in his way and dashed to Jonny. "Bandit! Hi! Long time so see, buddy!" Jonny ducked to pull his dog into his arms, giving him a chance to gather his thoughts at his surprise.

"You guys have _so_ much explaining to do!" Jessie crossed her arms and glared at her father, who quickly made himself busy helping others down from the bus.

"So do you," Jim shot back. He narrowed his eyes. "Not that I'm not glad for the welcoming committee, but I didn't know we'd invited all of Major Crimes."

Joel sucked in a breath. "Jim..."

Henri Brown stalked forward until he was right in Jim's face, finger poking the taller man in the chest. "Yeah, I bet you weren't expecting to see us. Well, guess what, buddy? Now we're part of your super secret little Sentinels-only club!"

"Henri, stop it," Brian moved to his partner's shoulder. He was paler than usual, and he had thick circles under his eyes.

For that matter, Jim had seen Simon, Joel, and Jessie look better. "What the hell went on here?"

"Clearly too much to hash out right now," Benton interjected, trying to serve as peacemaker. "Why don't we all go inside? I'm not a Sentinel and even I can smell the coffee. I think we could all use a cup."

"There is certainly much to discuss," Ivan stepped forward. "Go. Take your friends and make your peace. We have many new brothers and sisters to join us, I see."

Dmitri appeared with twenty or so of the other Sentinels, all looking a little worse for the wear but also all clearly happy. As the new Sentinels emerged from the bus, more than one brightened at the waiting faces and rushed forward to greet old friends. Only those Sentinels from the fifth floor – those taken from institutions rather than retirees – seemed awkward and without welcome. To these, Ivanna opened her arms.

"Come, my friends. We will get you food and help you find places to rest."

Blair and Hadji were assisting in getting Hasna out of the bus, Emeline trailing behind with Yasmin curled to her shoulder. Hadji looked up at the crowd. "Doctor Quest, it seems you and the Council will be very busy. I shall see to Hasna's medical attention," he offered.

"Yeah," Blair nodded. He looked to Emeline and held out his arms for the baby. "You go with the others. There's lots to talk about. Hadji and I can bring Hasna up to speed and get these two comfortable."

Almost before anyone had realized, the pair of Guides had escorted Hasna and her baby through the crowd and inside the lodge.

Simon blinked. "Did I just see Sandburg voluntarily turn down – not just the chance to tell us all what the hell is going on – but also helping Jim get out of a sticky situation?"

Jim growled low in his chest. He started to stride after Blair only to feel a grip on his arm. He turned to Brown. "We got a problem?"

"Yeah, we do. Get your butt inside and I'll tell you about it," Henri said. His face, which was most often alight with a smile had gone serious and angry.

Jim almost pulled away but Simon shook his head at him. "There's time to yell at Blair later. The guys have been waiting all night for this."

Jim hesitated for a moment before he finally nodded. The crowd started to disperse, the new Sentinels following either their friends or Ivanna who headed straight towards the cafeteria. But Simon guided his people – the remaining Quests, Jim, the rest of Major Crimes, and Eric and Daryl and Lai – into one of the conference rooms. He'd already had the argument about whether or not the students would be part of the conversation and lost when Jessie rightly pointed out that whatever was said would get back to them anyway if they were going to be a part of SELF since _she_ had no intention of keeping them out of the thick of it anymore. So they chose a conference room big enough to seat everyone. One already stocked with breakfast and a full pot of coffee.

"You planned this," Race accused with a small smile.

"Obviously," Jessie returned, tossing her hair. "We'll never get through this without some food. And caffeine."

"All right," Simon said, swiping a mug of coffee and taking a seat. "Let's start at the beginning. Why don't you guys tell us where you went and why you lied to us? Then we can get into Sandburg's little disappearing act and then fill you in on what you missed."

Jonny studiously avoided the gaze of his roommate and friends, grabbing a plate of food for himself and sliding into a place between Jim and his father while Bandit pressed against his leg. It seemed easier than looking at the faces of people he'd deceived. But Jessie wasn't buying it and her full glare was regularly moving between him and her own father. Daryl, beside her, was hard-pressed not to smile at her ever-present irritation, even as he was glad it wasn't turned in his direction.

Everyone sat quietly while Benton carefully outlined the mission the group had undertaken, laying it out factually without much elaboration of the more sensitive points. Jim added information about the Providence Partners Interglobal operation from the inside and their eventual escape, though he made little mention of the spirit guardian or the other not-readily-explicable aspects of the situation. That done, Joel explained Blair and Hadji's deception and disappearance, which Race neatly summed up with, "So, basically, their danger senses went off and they hitchhiked to Russia to save their Sentinels. And we're surprised? Really?"

Nobody was.

At that point, Benton indicated Simon should begin his own explanation. Race looked sharply at the scientist. No one had offered anything like the information that Doctor Zin had apparently been connected to the facility as stated by Hadji and confirmed by Jim and Jonny. Nor had Benton said one word about the bare-bones facts about what Blair and Hadji had experienced while in Murmansk. Admittedly, even Race and Benton had been given very little, what with the emergency going on with Jim and Jonny at the time, but they understood that the pair had done quite a bit more than just show up in Murmansk and connect with Race and Benton, which was all Benton had implied.

Benton looked to his friend and bodyguard and shrugged, knowing Race would understand. _It's their story. It's up to them who they tell and what they share. And as for Zin, I'd rather nobody start worrying about that any time soon_.

Simon and Jessie alternated their story of the mudslide in the mountains outside Cascade and the intervention of the Sentinels that had saved a dozen lives. Daryl spoke up in a few quick words to explain how he, Eric, and Lai had accidentally stumbled into the whole thing and basically demanded to help. But when Joel and Simon talked about Rafe and Brown being with them at the scene and later hearing the whole story, the pair of detectives stared straight ahead with stony expressions. Only when everyone was caught up did they turn to look at Jim.

"So what's your beef with me?" he asked directly.

"You didn't tell us. For _years_ you didn't tell us," Henri said coldly.

"It's my life," Jim replied. "I'm not obligated to share all the little details with you."

"When it makes a difference to us, you are!" Henri slammed a hand on the table. "What if you'd – what do you call it – zoned when Sandburg or Simon wasn't there? You could have gotten one of us killed."

"Well, I didn't."

"Why you!" Henri started to get out of his chair, stopped only by Joel's hand on his shoulder.

"Stop it." Joel frowned. "Just say what you want said and let that be the end of it."

Henri didn't sit back down, but he turned to his partner.

Brian took a breath. "Simon told us that SELF got founded to find Sentinels and help them learn to cope in the world. Well, I've found one. My baby sister Angie. And she could use the help. God knows that stupid hospital hasn't done anything but drug her up and make her miserable."

Jim took a slow breath, understanding. "And because I didn't tell you, she's been there all this time."

"Yeah."

"Rafe... Look, Brian. I'm sorry. But, up until last May, I thought I was maybe the only one in the world. Sandburg couldn't find them. Then all this happened," he gestured to Benton and Race and Jonny, "and everything changed."

"We have always intended to begin searching domestically for mis-identified Sentinels in institutions," Benton added softly, "but we just...the timing..."

"I know. Simon told us," Brian shrugged, crossing his arms and looking at no one. "But...if you knew..." He coughed, though the two Sentinels in the room heard the sob underneath it.

"Bro..." Henri said, dropping back to his chair and grabbing his partner's shoulder.

"Angie...tried to kill herself last year," Brian whispered as his eyes became wet. "She couldn't take it anymore."

The sudden silence in the room was profound.

"We found her," Henri said after a long moment fighting to control his voice. "It was almost too late." He looked up and glared across the table at Jim, Benton, and Simon. "So saying you're sorry isn't really a good answer right now. If you'd trusted us, she never would have..." He had to look away.

"Then we won't say we're sorry," came a new voice. Blair had entered the room, Hadji at his side. While Hadji stayed near the door, Blair moved around the table to stand behind Brian and Henri who turned to face him.

"Sandburg, we know you didn't want to keep us in the dark," Brian said softly even as he began to master his own emotions once more.

Blair shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Like you said. 'Sorry' doesn't cut it. But all I can give you is this – it won't happen again. You're here now. You'll always be here. And we'll bring Angie here and get her the right kind of help. We won't...we can't save everyone," he flinched. "But we won't shut you out again. And we'll do whatever we can to save her."

"And all those like her," Hadji added sincerely. "As many as we can find."

"Henri. Brian." Jim cleared his throat. "I _am_ sorry. If it helps. And they're right about all the rest."

"It doesn't hurt. Not like we ever hear an apology from Stoneface Ellison, anyway," Henri said with a small smile more like his usual grin. "And we're going to hold you to that promise."

"Well then, guys," Blair smiled at Brian and Rafe. He clasped them each on the shoulder. "Welcome to the family."

-==OOO==-

Jonny followed everybody upstairs with a determined air, Bandit trotting at his heels. He noted a similar gleam in Jim's eye and nodded in acknowledgment. Their Guides had done a superbly good job of avoiding their Sentinels all day long, always busy with the new Sentinels or the new initiates to SELF or whatever else – but that was ending _now_.

Bandit bounded into the room and made for his doggie bed, which he happily forced into shape by walking in circles on it three times before lying down with a satisfied sigh. Jonny shut the door behind him to their shared room. On the keypad next to it, he hit the button to activate the noise-canceling stuff built into all the private rooms. If he was going to yell at his Guide, he was going to spare the rest of the building from having to listen to it.

"Hadji," he said.

Hadji had seated himself on a low seat before the window. He was facing the other cushion and gestured to it. "Come, my friend."

Jonny hit the lights as he went, leaving on only a small one so they would have a full view out the window of the forest. By the time he had reached Hadji and sat, Hadji had unwound his dastar turban and was letting his long hair fall for its nightly combing.

"Let me," Jonny said impulsively. He gulped. He'd been Hadji's brother for years, but only rarely had the courage to ask for the privilege to comb his hair. He knew how important the ritual was to his brother's faith.

But Hadji merely nodded and passed over the fine wooden comb, moving to sit at Jonny's feet. Jonny hesitated a moment before he carefully began imitating the very way Hadji always combed his own hair, with the same slow carefulness he always admired in his brother. His Guide.

"Hadj," he said after a few long moments, "we have to talk. There's so much..."

"I know," Hadji said softly.

"Before anything else happens, though," Jonny stopped his combing, "I just...I'm so sorry. And...I missed you, Hadji. So much." He closed his eyes and actually tipped forward, resting his forehead on the crown of Hadji's head. "I'm so sorry. Are you...do you still feel broken...?"

"No, Jonny," Hadji said. "The pain of our broken bond is gone. And it was never truly broken, merely...disrupted. But it is over now. We are as we always were. More or less."

"Yeah," Jonny sat back up, able to return to his task and focused on getting his brother to talk. "About that."

"I do believe I owe you an explanation." And without so much as a pause Hadji launched into a full retelling of how he and Blair had realized their Sentinels were in trouble – and what they had done about it. He left out no details of their abduction by the Zin daughters or what they had learned there. It was only when he reached the point in his tale when he and Blair had again dropped into the Temple of Light to try to help that he stopped.

Jonny had finished combing by then, so he took the quiet as an opportunity to tug Hadji off the floor and back to his seat where he could look into his eyes.

"Tell me about all the mystical stuff or don't," Jonny offered after a moment. "I might not understand it even if you do tell me. But there is something I really do want to know."

"What precisely is that?"

"I want to know why you're...different now." Jonny never looked away from Hadji. "I want to know why you and Blair don't seem okay."

Hadji nodded. "Then, for now let it suffice to say that what we did was a terrible stretch for both of us, far beyond when you and I summoned the spirit guardian last fall."

Jonny's heart pounded. "But it almost..."

"You know we almost died," Hadji said. "You know that."

Jonny swallowed around a dry throat and nodded.

"We were saved by the Guide and his Sentinel who joined us in the astral. Combined, they had the strength to do what we could not, though the cost was..." Hadji sighed. "Still, there are always consequences to overextending oneself even in the pursuit of enlightenment."

Hadji closed his eyes. "We will be all right, I think," he said at last. "But right now...we are not quite ourselves."

"What do you mean?"

"For a time, when we were struggling to keep ourselves alive while also saving your lives by keeping the waters at bay, Blair and I bound ourselves as closely as we could. We became as a single pillar to hold up the world. And...we have not yet quite separated."

Jonny's mouth fell open. " _What_?"

"When you and I are one, when we bonded, you know what we felt. We intertwined all that we are, and all of it became shared. But, just as you were forced to break our bond in order to answer the Sentinel sickness mating imperative, I was forced to stretch myself in order to save all our lives, and that thinness was only answered by Blair adding his own strength to mine."

"So...you bonded with him?"

"I don't believe so. Not exactly." Hadji turned his head and stared out over the forest. "It is not permanent. I don't believe it is. But...there are echoes of us in each other. I can tell you without guessing or supposing that he is engaged in this exact conversation with Jim right now." He smiled a little wryly. "Jim is taking it far more badly than you, incidentally."

"Because I don't think I understand it yet!" Jonny protested. "Are you telling me you can read his mind, and he can read yours?"

"More accurately that, for the moment, we share the same mind. Or, at least, there is a great deal of overlap. We are a very complicated Venn Diagram now. There is little of me that is not either also in common with you or else Blair. Just as there is little of him that is not either a part of myself or a part of Jim."

"Oh Hadji," Jonny suddenly felt the truth of what he had trouble wrapping his brain around. In an impulsive leap, he crossed the distance between them and flung his arms around his brother. "You and Blair risked everything to save us. You broke yourselves to build up enough energy to protect us. I'm so sorry." He buried his head against Hadji's warm neck. "I should have been the one protecting you."

"Do not be sorry," Hadji returned the hug. "We would do it again for you. Always."

"But it won't last?"

Hadji shook his head. "We don't think so. Though, once changed, one cannot go back to what one was. You know what they say about Humpty Dumpty, my friend," Hadji said sadly.

"Well," Jonny answered as he leaned back to meet his brother's eyes, "it is true that 'all the king's horses and all the king's men' couldn't put him together again, but I'm willing to bet none of those men were Sentinels." He let himself smile gently. "No matter how small the broken pieces, I won't stop until I find them all. No matter how badly shattered, there's no way I won't piece that eggshell together again. Even if you got scrambled down to the molecular level, I'm sure dad would have something that would help me see which molecules belonged where."

Hadji looked to his Sentinel and, for the first time in weeks, felt peace.

-==OOO==-

There were only a few days until the end of spring break at Rainier, and they were busy. While the rest of the Major Crimes department had to get back to doing their duties, Blair, the Quests, and the three newcomer students took advantage of the time they had to work through the initial difficulties of helping their new Sentinels. In the end, all but one decided to remain at SELF for the foreseeable future, whether because they were afraid to go back to their homes or they wanted to learn (a few even requested that their families be relocated, which Benton was happyto do). Hasna and Emeline had been the first to opt for remaining with SELF; it was where they had decided to raise their children.

At the same time, Jonny showed the little book given to him by Bai Ming to the others. To his horror, it had been at least partly damaged by its soaking, but there were sections of it that were still legible. Whenever not running around as Guides trying to acclimate thirty new Sentinels to the seventy already in place, Blair and Hadji could be found bent over the book, parsing its words and recording them along with their own notes and interpretations.

And if the pair of Guides did most of it without exchanging a word, no one asked about it.

The night before returning to classes, Ivanna was out on the patio when Blair came to join her, little book in hand.

"Jonny says you knew Bai Ming?" he asked gently.

She nodded. "Yes. He was an old friend to Ilja and I." She looked away.

"Jonny also told us that...Ilja wasn't a true Sentinel."

"As I am not a true Guide." There was no bitterness in her voice, merely acceptance.

"I didn't believe it at first," Blair said. "You've _always_ been a Guide to these Sentinels. And you're more comfortable with spirit animals and stuff even than Hadji and I are."

She inclined her head regally and waited.

"But what we did, how we helped...you can't do that, can you?"

"Ming told me many years ago that I lacked a Seventh sense," she said. "I am strong, very strong, in what he called the Sixth of the senses."

"That would be the one for sensing spirit animals and having visions and stuff," Blair nodded. "That's what his book says. But it says a true Guide and a true Sentinel are possessed not only of five senses, or six, but seven."

"And in that sense, Ilja and I were not like you. Neither of us possessed the Seventh."

"That's why you and he never bonded," Blair said with care. "Because if you had, you wouldn't still be alive without him. The Seventh makes that possible."

"Ming was the only one to tell me of the Seventh," Ivan answered, "but if I understood his indirect meaning correctly, that is one of its purposes, yes."

"The book also says that...that Sentinels without the Seventh sense can be dangerous." Blair swallowed thickly. "That they can be...unstable."

"A Sentinel without the Seventh sense is apparently much more likely to go mad or insensible. And much more likely to hate any who does possess it. They can perceive nothingness but see that something should be there." She turned to him. "This reminds you of something."

"Yeah," he nodded. "Of the Sentinel who killed me. Who warped Jim for a while."

"The one who caused him Sentinel sickness," Ivan said knowingly. "I understand."

"But she...she _was_ a Sentinel," Blair said. "Even if she wasn't the same as Jim, she wasn't...it wasn't like she lacked something. She was a Sentinel in all the ways that mattered – well, until she went crazy and killed me," he managed a smile. "Not having the Seventh made her different, but it wasn't a _bad_ different until she, well, went bad."

"I believe that is because your heart is kinder even than Ming's was. If you ever troubled yourself to look for what I am not, you would see what I lack." Ivan looked at him fondly. "That you and Hadji both choose otherwise is your own kindness, not any great worthiness of mine."

"You're still a Guide," Blair said stubbornly. "And we don't care about the Seventh."

"You should."

"Okay, we don't care that you don't have it," he clarified. "You're still a Guide. You're the only Guide most of the people here had ever known. If you can't break all the rules of physics, that's okay." He smiled. "We won't hold it against you."

Ivan laughed. "So, you are saying that this knew wisdom changes nothing?"

"Oh, it changes all _kinds_ of things," Blair said eagerly, grinning. "This means Benton and I have to design a whole new set of tests so we can figure out which Sentinels have a bit of the Seventh. And so we can find Guides who have it, too. It adds more colors to our little rainbow!"

Ivanna smiled at him. "Oh my dear Professor Guide. You are colorful enough all on your own."

-==OOO==-

On the Sunday night before classes resumed for the term, it was quite a caravan that set out from the lodge. Benton took Jonny and Eric while Race had Jessie and Lai and Simon went with Daryl to move them back into the dorms after their brief stay. Now that everything was out in the open, the discussions in the car were full of life as the three new members of SELF found endless questions to ask and new plans to make.

But it was slightly solemn, too, as they watched Jim's truck with Blair and Hadji in it head for the other end of campus.

"I got your email," Chris practically exploded out of his chair when Hadji and Blair and Jim came into the room. "You found Mark? What happened? Is he all right?"

Otto raised an eyebrow from his own chair, looking carefully at the three.

"Sit down," Blair said gently. "You need to hear this."

"Oh god," Chris sank back into his chair. "Oh god."

"Chris, I'm so sorry to tell you this," Jim said firmly, "but Mark Peterson was found dead last week."

The young anthropologist nodded, tears starting to fall. His voice was low. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Are you sure you wish to know?" Hadji asked with concern, moving to one side.

Chris nodded. But his shoulders shook. Otto got up from his own desk and moved to his friend, resolutely wrapping his arms around the other man. Chris leaned into the support but never took his eyes from Jim.

"He was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Jim said. He tried to be as gentle as he could while also being truthful. "We don't really know why he left his room that night, or what made him decide to stay here over winter break."

"It could have been research related," Blair put in. "Maybe he got a line on a new resource or something. His advisor didn't know."

"Some of the members of one of the fraternities on campus were cruising around celebrating after they'd finished their finals," Jim continued. "They were drunk and maybe using drugs as well. They don't really remember. But they..." he paused, feeling his own sorrow at the words to come. "They hit him with their car."

"He died instantly," Blair said softly. "Never felt a thing."

"They panicked and threw him in their trunk. They took him somewhere to bury him and never told anyone." Jim forged on. "We've recovered his body already. His mother will be flying him home for burial."

Chris started to say something, but it came out garbled. He turned and buried his face in Otto's chest and let himself cry.

"Thank you," Hadji said softly. Blair and Jim nodded and took that as their cue to leave. If Chris later wanted the details about the memorial Rainier would plan, Hadji knew them. The partners waved grimly at Hadji and left him with his roommates.

They were all the way down in the truck before either of them spoke. "Rafe and Brown did a good job getting that confession from the kids," Blair said.

"They did a good job finding them in the first place," Jim agreed. "It was because you asked Simon to make it a priority for them."

"We might never have gotten to it," Blair shrugged. "With everything that was happening, we were up to our necks in problems. Even focusing on it, it took them days to sort through possibilities and everything to find where the repair shop had called in a suspicious report of damage to a car and trace the timing back to Mark's disappearance."

"The best police work isn't the dramatic stuff in a shootout in the street," Jim said. "It's the slow research and piecing together of tiny clues to build a case. Even in the most open-and-shut deal, it takes hours and days and weeks to get it right."

"Yeah."

Jim looked sideways at his partner. Even putting aside that whole thing about Blair sharing some kind of weird brainwaves with Hadji, his partner had been more quiet and withdrawn than usual. Not with other people, mainly. With them, he was acting as much like himself as Jim thought he was able. It was only when it was just the two of them that Blair gave up the act and let himself be...whatever he was.

"Sandburg?"

"What is it, Jim?"

"Something on your mind?"

Blair heaved a sigh. "Yeah. Something Bai Ming told us when we were...you know."

"Yeah, I know." Even if he still didn't entirely understand it. _Maybe I can get him to write it all down. Or explain it to Jonny and he'll explain it to me, except I don't think he gets it either. Maybe Benton does. But, if he does, he's not telling. I don't think my brain is built for this esoteric stuff_.

"He said that if we would stop trying to hold onto everything, we'd be a lot happier." Sandburg looked out his window. "At the time, I thought he meant more than just we couldn't hold back all the water by ourselves."

Jim waited. His partner would talk it all out now.

"I think...somehow he was talking about me. About how I've been trying to hold onto everything all at the same time. And the truth is that I'm running out of hands, you know? Being a teacher at Rainier, and being your partner on the job, and working for SELF, and being your Guide, and now trying to be a Guide to a hundred other Sentinels..."

Jim sat for a moment before he asked, "Does this mean you don't want some of that?"

"Oh man. The problem is that I want _all_ of it!" Blair grinned, suddenly sounding just like his old self. Then he sobered. "But I can't really have all of it. And that's the problem. You can't hold onto sand – it runs through your fingers when you try."

"So what are you going to do?" Jim asked carefully. He had an opinion, but it was Blair's life and he would respect that no matter what.

"I...think it's time for me to let go of Rainier," Blair answered.

Jim was surprised. That was _not_ the choice he thought Sandburg would make. "Why Rainier?"

"Well, work backwards. I can't give up being your Guide and I don't want to." He said it with a grin, but Jim could hear the soul-deep steel under the words, which comforted him. "And if I'm your Guide, I'm also your partner. But I can't be your partner without the DHS stuff. To get that, I have to stay with SELF."

Jim couldn't argue that logic.

"And besides, I mean, think about it. SELF is, like, the total embodiment of everything I've ever been working towards. I thought one Sentinel was my holy grail, and I was _so_ wrong."

"How so?"

"One Sentinel is a study, an interest. A hundred Sentinels is a lifetime of adventure and teaching and learning and watching cultures interact and seeing how subcultures develop in a small population and that's without any of the actual Sentinel stuff like the regular five senses or now these Sixth and Seventh senses and everything that they mean, plus all the protective stuff and now going on a big hide-and-seek game all over the world for more like Angie and Hasna and Emeline."

Jim grinned in spite of the slight pang – his partner could still run on without a breath when he got going.

"Sounds like you're pretty happy."

"Well...Rainier was the first real home I ever had," Blair admitted. "It kind of hurts to leave it behind."

"Except you've got all the kids now, too, to keep you on your toes," Jim pointed out.

"And I'd still spend some time at the SELF house near the campus sometimes if I needed to be closer to the station but I was working on Sentinel stuff," Blair nodded. "Mostly...I just have to wonder if I'm really ready for this."

"What do you mean?" Jim was confused. "Ready for what?"

"Well, being a Guide to a hundred Sentinels. I'm sometimes a pretty cruddy Guide to just one Sentinel, and –"

"Stop right there." Jim actually pulled off the road into a parking lot so he could turn and look straight at his partner. "You are _not_ a cruddy Guide. Or partner."

"I almost let you drown, man. You went off without me – _again_ – and you could have been killed. And that whole thing with Sentinel sickness..."

Jim growled. Then, abandoning any pretense, he reached across the cab of the truck and grabbed his Guide by the shoulder. Heedless of seat-belts, he hauled Blair across and drew him into a rough hug.

"Now, you listen to me and you listen good, Sandburg. It's my fault I went without telling you. Not yours. And if you and Hadji hadn't come for us, we'd be dead for sure and a whole lot of people with us. As for the Sentinel sickness..."

Jim paused and then forged ahead. "Look, we've never really talked about what happened with Alex. But I think we both understand it now."

"It was pure Sentinel sickness," Blair nodded against his chest. "Maybe even made worse because she didn't have a Seventh sense. I've been thinking she was like Ilja, and that's why it was easy for her to kill me. And why the pools drove her out of her mind but brought you back to yourself at the Temple. She could see to the steps but couldn't get through the Seventh Door."

"Whatever. Frankly, I don't care," Jim shrugged. "But, look. I...it hurt you bad and...I wasn't exactly...you know." He sighed. "I didn't know what it was doing to you."

"Neither did I," Blair admitted. "But, Jim, man, it's okay."

"No, Chief."

" _Yes_ , Jim," Blair said more firmly, pushing back to where he could look into his Sentinel's face. "It _is_ okay. It's okay because even if I didn't understand it then, I get it now. And now is what matters. Now we're in this thing together. All the way."

Jim could only nod as the strength and depth of their bond reasserted itself in his heart.

"And that's some of what I think Bai Ming was trying to tell me, too," Blair said. "I can't hold onto everything that ever happened between us. Or everything that was ever a part of my life. I can't carry it all with me. It'll crush me. I have to be here, in the moment, with what's here. With you. With SELF. I got used to traveling with nothing more than a single backpack a long time ago. It's way past time I started cleaning out my insides to make them portable."

"And that's a healthy development?" Jim wanted to know.

Blair nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I have to let some things go. So I'm opting to drop all the bad stuff between us, and Rainier too. I'll stay until the end of the semester, but that's it. And that will free up a lot of space in my head for being a better partner and a better Guide."

"Do whatever you think you have to," Jim said, tugging Blair back into his hug, "but you're a damn fine partner and Guide right now, no matter what. And I'm proud to have you as both."

-==OOO==-

In a darkened room half a world away, many different computer screens showed a variety of images. Some were of a ruined facility, mostly flooded and filled with the bodies of those who had failed. Some were from an underground garage and a singular confrontation that had taken place.

"You have won this round quite handily, my old enemy," Doctor Zin said, steepling his long fingers before him in thought. "But do not grow complacent. For the time will come when I will tear down everything you so cherish, and from your ashes I will create a world in my own image."

He hit a button on his desk that activated an intercom.

"Yes, Master?"

"Send for my daughters. They have a great deal of work to do."


	14. Chapter 14

We've made it to the end of the 3rd Arc! A few suspicions have been confirmed, and more questions remain, but no worries – our stalwart team is up to the challenge!

Note that at the end of this week we'll begin Arc 3.5, the arc of oneshots that will span the next 2ish years of time. Some of them are seriously my favorite writing ever and that is saying something. I can't wait to share them with you!

Enjoy!

* * *

When the phone rang, Howard smiled grimly as he hit the orange button on his desk that his assistant called his "Privacy Setting." It had been wired with a variety of functions; it flagged his assistant that he was busy and could not be interrupted no matter what, it locked his door, it cut off any other signal passing from his office to the outside to block any possible listening equipment, and it turned on his own white noise system based off the one used throughout the SELF lodge. Only when his room was secure did he answer the call.

"Hello, Mister Secretary," he greeted the head of the DHS – and his boss – politely.

"Howard, I'm looking at the report you just submitted," he said in his usual straight-to-business way.

"Yes, sir?"

"Exactly what kind of operation are you running out there, Fritz?"

Howard sighed. "Sir, if you recall, all acts undertaken by SELF are independent in nature and not subject to my authority."

"Well, maybe they should be!" the Secretary snapped. "We can't have people just up and leaving the country to infiltrate other sovereign nations, sneak into secret research facilities, and bring them down in an explosion!"

"In point of fact, sir, it wasn't SELF that set off any explosives. That was Doctor Zin."

"Don't start talking to me about Doctor Zin!" he yelled. "And thanks _so much_ for adding something _else_ to the list of things I can't bring before a Senate committee. Nobody wants to provide funding to battle a boogeyman."

Fritz bristled but answered calmly, "He isn't a boogeyman. The State Department as well as the Department of Defense have had him on their radars for decades. He has a long history of terrorist activities, particularly where Doctor Quest is concerned."

"I know that better than you do, Fritz," the Secretary said. "Who do you think has been keeping the rest of the Hill out here from realizing he's crawled back out from under his slimy little rock?"

Howard smiled, grateful his boss couldn't see his expression. He knew the Secretary well enough to know when the man was honestly angry and exasperated and when he was privately amused. Keeping secrets and playing the politics game was very much in the latter category.

"And on top of the fact that your little independent organization went into Norwegian-Russian territory without authorization and infiltrated a Zin base, those two Guides actually went after them with even less backup than Doctor Quest had!"

"Sir," Howard said directly and firmly, "what precisely are you calling about? I fully accept that you are not sanguine over how exactly the operation ended, but if I may ask, what else did you want? Ellison and Jonny Quest got in and out safely without exposing their organization or putting the US government at risk. They rescued almost thirty Sentinels who are now eager to join the program. And those Guides gained valuable intelligence about Doctor Zin's possible movements." With a smug confidence he pressed, "What is your exact objection here...sir?"

The _harrumph_ on the other end of the line made Howard smile.

"I hate to admit it, but you're not wrong on any of it," the Secretary finally grumbled. "But do they have to be so damn...unpredictable? We don't have any kind of scenarios prepped for if an operation like that goes south. Sure it worked out, but what if it hadn't? We were unprepared to respond."

"Respectfully, sir, I believe that _is_ the Standard Operating Procedure for all possible excursions involving Doctor Benton Quest," Howard answered. "I am fairly sure that the DOD only has a single planned response which states 'First, ask Race Bannon for his opinion on the situation. Then offer to supply military support if needed. Any other response cannot be anticipated.' The truth, sir, is _nobody_ knows what to do when the Quests get involved."

"Except stand back and keep out of their way, I know, Fritz," the Secretary said. "Doesn't it worry you that the government has almost no ability to control that man's behavior out in the world? Particularly when he is treading awfully close to an international incident? And now there's more of them like Doctor Sandburg and Detective Ellison and all the rest?"

"Truthfully, sir? No, it doesn't worry me at all." Howard leaned back. "I'd rather let the group running SELF take a crack at global politics than half the agencies you could name under federal administration. Frankly, they're better at it."

The Secretary sighed gustily. "You're probably not wrong about that."

"Yes, sir."

"So what exactly do I tell the president when I make my report on why we've got even more foreign nationals taking up residence in Cascade? And when I – _somehow_ – have to talk about research labs being set up by Doctor Zin? He's going to ask me what we plan to do next to ensure the safety of this country and our allies."

"If I may suggest, sir," Fritz said, "tell him the truth. Tell him we'll do all we can and we're preparing for every eventuality. But, in the end, it isn't going to be us that handles this new threat."

"You don't think so, either?"

"No, sir. It's going to be SELF. It's going to be Benton Quest and Blair Sandburg and Jim Ellison and all the men and women they've chosen to trust. And we're going to have to choose to trust them."

"And you are in favor of this, Agent Fritz?"

"Yes, sir. Absolutely."

"Great. Get on the next flight to DC. _You're_ going to get to tell the president that." The Secretary hung up.

Howard put down the phone and sighed. "Bannon owes me a drink for this one," he muttered.

-==OOO==-

The third week of April turned out to be a week of changes.

Typically, it was a period Jim had learned to totally avoid Rainier if at all possible, so he was nowhere in sight. The hectic chaos of finals was just beginning with the end of term three weeks away, plus it was the point at which most second-year students began declaring their majors, apparently requiring reams of paperwork. It was also the week of the dreaded "room-draw" where students gathered in a cramped space and stared at big projected matrices of campus housing and waited anxiously for their numbers to be called so they could attempt to claim a room with their friends in which to live for the next year.

"I am _so_ glad we're not doing that," Jonny heaved a dramatic sigh, staring at the posters for the room-draw event on the upper floor of the central student gathering place on campus. "Plus, my number is so low it's useless. If I tried to register for anything but a triple in Mousser I'd wind up in a janitor's closet or something."

Eric laughed. "You could use mine. It's not too bad for a rising sophomore."

"Yeah, that upgrades me to a bathroom. Thanks, but no," Jonny shook his head.

"If you were really lucky," Blair said, "you could have my old office. The rats are only half the size of Bandit."

"Not helping, Prof," Eric smirked at him. Then, more seriously, he asked, "Is it really okay for me to get paid through SELF?"

"Sure," Blair shrugged. "We've got more money than we know what to do with right now between my _excellent_ grant-writing and the Foundation's own resources. Jonny and Jessie and Hadji are already drawing pay as a part-time thing for the work they do up at the lodge. Why should you and Daryl and Lai be any different? Plus, it makes everything easier."

"Don't worry about it," Jonny nudged his friend. "It's my dad's way of helping you feel independent. If we asked, he'd just buy us the place and we wouldn't have to come up with rent at all."

Eric shrugged a little uncomfortably. He was used to having to scrape by with whatever little he could make for himself on the side. It wasn't that he didn't feel hugely grateful that Doctor Quest and Doctor Sandburg wanted to help him out since he'd offered to teach some boxing to the Sentinels up at SELF, because he _did_ feel grateful. It just seemed too easy. A house had just spontaneously opened up for rent not too far from Rainier? A four-bedroom with enough space to be comfortable for eight students and a double-sized garage to store bikes and vehicles? A house that, when split eight ways, was completely affordable under the stipend being offered by SELF?

Eric hadn't been a big believer in conspiracies before; he was finding it to be a lot easier to believe now that he was already caught up in one.

"It's going to be great," Jonny leaned on the railing with a grin. "The girls will take the master bedroom, which gives them their own bathroom, too. And it's plenty big enough for all three of them. Hadji and I can take the room next to the little bedroom for Ngama. As long as you're okay sharing with Daryl?"

"Yeah, no problem," Eric said easily. "At least he won't be trying to hide how gross he thinks my socks smell."

"Hey, I don't have to hide it!" Jonny protested. "I just dial it down. You might actually have to do laundry for Daryl's sake!"

"Are you sure you're all right inviting Kaimi and Ngama into the house?" Blair asked. "You and Lai haven't met them before."

"Jonny and Hadji and Jessie and Daryl all like them," Eric shrugged. "That's a better endorsement than anything else I can think of. And you and Jim like them. That's, you know, like the gold star of good people."

Jonny smiled. He hadn't been surprised that Ngama had jumped at the chance to skip having to live in a dorm his first year at Rainier. Ngama as a Sentinel would have had enough trouble coping since he hadn't had nearly as much instruction on controlling his senses as Jonny, and even Jonny had found a building full of students to be a challenge sometimes. But also, Ngama was coming from another country, another culture, and a very different educational background from most of his peers. He'd be more comfortable in a set of misfits, especially those around whom he could be honest about his Sentinel abilities.

The surprise had been the bombshell he'd dropped in his email that Kaimi Waihee was transferring to Rainier as well. Jonny hadn't seen her in Cascade when she'd dropped off Doctor Zimbati's herbal remedy when he'd been sick with chemical poisoning after that fire on campus back in the fall, and he hadn't been awake to meet her in Hawaii either. But Jessie and Hadji had both spoken of a girl working towards a psychology major, cheerful and comfortable in her own skin.

As if following his train of thought, Blair tipped his head. "I wonder about Kaimi."

"Wonder what?" Jonny asked.

"Well, she and Ngama have been corresponding via email since last fall, right?"

"Sure."

"But they only met for a matter of minutes, right?"

"Yeah..."

"And Hadji and I liked her right off."

Jonny blinked. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Maybe."

Eric frowned. "Well, I don't know what you think you're saying, so why don't you share with the class, Prof?"

"Ivanna told me once that Guides who are paying attention will always recognize one another. I understand now that it has something to do with the Sixth sense, that we instinctively recognize Guides the way you Sentinels know one another. The way Sentinels know Guides and vice versa. And I'm starting to wonder if maybe Ngama saw something in her that I missed." He shrugged. "I wasn't really looking for it at the time."

"You think Kaimi is a Guide?" Eric's eyebrows rose.

Blair shook his head. "No, I'm pretty sure she _is_ a Guide. I'm thinking now that Kaimi is _Ngama's_ Guide."

"No wonder they've been keeping in touch," Jonny said with a small smile. "Ngama is way more into all that Sixth stuff than me, and if he'd found somebody other than that awful medicine man, he wouldn't want to let her go."

"Is that okay?" Eric asked.

"Yeah. Better than okay, actually," Jonny admitted. He trusted Ngama around his own Guide now, but there was no denying he'd feel better if Ngama had a Guide of his own. There was enough Guide-sharing going on up at SELF with only the three of them to go around. He'd be just as glad not to have Guide-sharing in the house as well.

"Just don't try to date her," Jonny grinned at Eric. "If she really is Ngama's Guide, he'll be...protective."

"Yeah, I kind of get that," Eric said dryly, having noticed certain little things about Jonny and Jim watching over Hadji and Blair. Then he coughed. "About that, though..."

"Yeah?"

"I...I was going to ask Hadji this, but we're almost to finals and I don't know how long before I'll lose my chance," Eric said, lowering his voice.

"Ask Hadji what?" Jonny turned, his full attention on his current roommate.

"If he thought...I know it's only been a few weeks since that guy's memorial, but..."

Blair leaned close. "You want to ask out Hadji's roommate Chris?"

Eric nodded, swallowing convulsively and looking at Jonny with a challenge in his eyes.

Jonny was totally surprised, caught entirely by off-guard for a moment, before he processed everything. He ran his senses over his roommate and noted the elevated pulse, the shallower respiration, the slight perspiration. _And here I thought Eric wasn't scared of anything. But this, well, it's different. I wonder how many people he's ever trusted with this. Probably not a lot_. He held a hand out. "Thanks for telling me, Eric."

"Well, seemed unfair for me to know about you and you not to know about me," his much larger roommate admitted. "I just didn't know how to..."

"Trust me, I get it," Jonny smiled. He kept holding his hand out. "No problem."

Eric smiled in sudden relief and took the hand, shaking it. "Here's to a pair of roommates with their own little secrets, then."

"As for Chris," Blair put in after a moment, "he might turn you down, but I don't think it'll be because of you. He's in a rough place right now."

"I get that," Eric said, "but I'm never going to find out if I don't try."

"Fair enough." Blair nodded. "Then good luck, man. Just...don't get into all the Sentinel stuff with him until you clear it with us first. If we show up with more people before we get clearance, one of these days Agent Fritz really is going to flip out on us."

Eric was nodding when Jonny pointed. "Speaking of flipping out!"

Down in the huge student center, it took the non-Sentinels a few moments to follow Jonny's indication to what had caught his attention. It was Jessie, who had apparently been weaving through the crowd when she was interrupted by Daryl's current roommate, Marc.

"What's going on?" Blair asked.

Jonny extended his hearing, carefully piggybacking it to his sight to keep from picking up every other conversation in the cavernous room. He felt Blair beside him lean a shoulder against his arm just in case and smiled at the precaution.

"So, I don't know if you heard," Marc was saying, "but I'm getting a single next year. You'd be able to drop by without having to run into anybody."

"I'm not sure why that's such an incentive," Jessie said archly, trying to move around him.

"Well, we'd be able to have a conversation without some guy like Daryl getting all weird around you."

"Daryl's not the one I'm worried about," Jessie shot back. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Jonny saw it coming, and if he hadn't been two floors up, he would have started running. Instead, he gripped the railing tightly.

Marc grabbed Jessie's arm and pulled her in close, using his superior height to crowd her and force her almost into his arms. "Come on, Jessie. I like you. You're hot, and I want you to give me a chance so I can show you – "

"How much of a _jerk_ you are?" she raised her voice. Then, almost shouting and certainly drawing some attention, Jessie struggled in his grip. "You let me go _right now_ , you pigheaded, pea-brained, player wanna-be bag of bubonic plague sores!"

And without giving him a moment to respond, Jessie slammed a foot into his instep, twisted in his arms to deliver an elbow to his bicep to break his grip, and shoved him back hard. Marc lost his balance and crashed into a table, which flipped under his weight and he slid rear-end first to the floor.

Jonny was just starting to giggle when he heard the start of clapping. Following the sound, he spotted Daryl in the crowd, applauding and grinning. Jonny cheered and joined in, and within moments half the students in the common area were clapping and hooting. Jessie spun on her heel and stalked away towards the stairs. Jonny wondered if Daryl was going to confront his idiotic roommate as well, and was just as glad when his friend opted not to make things worse. But there was no mistaking the triumph in Daryl's face as he slipped out a side door.

"Nice work, Ace!" Jonny greeted Jessie when she finally joined them.

" _Ugh_! I'm so glad Daryl will be living in our house next year. Then maybe I'll never have to talk to that shallow ignoramus again." She huffed a laugh. "I hope I bruised his ego a little bit. I wanted to give him a bloody nose, but then I'd have to change my shirt," she gestured at her white pullover.

"Fighting at school, Jessie?" Blair said with a twinkle in his eyes. "I might have to report this to your class dean."

"Well," she shrugged at him and blinked innocently, "I suppose you _could_. But didn't you just give notice today that this is your last semester?"

"Why, as a matter of fact, I did," Blair said with his own wide-eyed expression.

"So clearly you no longer have the authority to worry about such things as a, _ahem_ , difference of opinion."

Eric let out a bright laugh. "She's got you there, Prof!"

"Come on," Jonny said laughingly. "Hadji and the others said they'd meet us at the house. We'll want to make some notes so we know what we need to scrounge up in the way of furniture if we don't want to get to the end of term and find ourselves sleeping on the floor and sitting on cardboard boxes all summer."

"You know," Blair said as they made their way to the stairwell, "I've been thinking we need a name for your place."

"We do?" Jessie asked.

"Sure. We've got the loft, the lodge, and the SELF house. Unless you want Simon and Jim and all the rest to start calling your place The Nursery or something, you better come up with some kind of shorthand. Before Henri does." Blair ran a hand through his hair. "That's how I became 'Hairboy' for life."

"Good point," Jessie said. "How about Students-R-Us?"

"Something that sounds profound like The Dwelling?" Eric suggested.

"The Crib?" Jonny asked.

"The WWPOB," Eric offered. At their looks of confusion, he smirked. "The Where We Park Our Butts."

They tossed ideas back and forth, gathering Daryl, Lai, and finally Hadji across campus as they made their way to the house they had rented for the year starting as soon as classes ended. Some suggestions were terrible – some were _worse_. Jonny came up with one whose acronym spelled something that Hadji pointed out would prove once and for all if Race really would be willing to wash their mouths out with soap as he had threatened them as children.

"You're missing the obvious," Lai said eventually as they stared up at the otherwise unremarkable house that was to be their shared home in a month.

"What's the obvious?" Jessie asked.

"Our home is, like the SELF house, kind of a place belonging to another nation. Like an embassy for SELF, except nobody knows it. It's going to be our safe ground where we can live by the rules of the place of our origin, separate from the rules outside its doors."

"Leave it to you to think about this as a diplomat," Jonny shook his head, but he was smiling.

"She has a point," Hadji said. "It is a similar circumstance, if you look at it correctly."

"So what would we call it if it were an embassy? We can't actually call it that," Eric said.

"Well, the part of an embassy that actually houses the mission is usually called the 'chancery.' Better than the 'residence,' anyway."

Eric and Daryl started to laugh. "Chancery? Really?"

"Why is it funny?" Blair asked, curious.

"A 'chancery' is also a wrestling hold," Eric explained. "I dunno why it's called that, but it's a hold that puts your opponent under your armpit and makes them pretty miserable about you."

"The Chancery, huh?" Jonny tried it out. "I kind of like it."

"And it's appropriate for you, too," Hadji said, his eyes dancing with laughter.

"Oh? Why's that?" his Sentinel asked.

"Because your life has been defined by your chances. As Abraham Lincoln said, 'I will study and get ready, and perhaps my chance will come.' You have been creating your own chances for years."

Blair grinned and linked arms with Hadji. "Here's another one for you. 'We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person.' William Somerset Maugham."

"I've got one!" Jessie put in. "'All life is a chance. The man who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.' Dale Carnegie."

Jonny groaned.

"How about 'All we are saying is give peace a chance!'" Daryl piped up.

"'Chance favors the prepared mind.' Louis Pasteur," Lai said with a bright smile.

"Okay! _Enough_!" Jonny cried, turning to his current roommate with wide eyes. "Please tell me you're on my side on this one!"

Eric laughed. "Not a chance, buddy!"

Jonny's aggrieved shout was echoed with laughter.

-==OOO==-

On the last day of finals, and after all the members of the Rainier crew had successfully moved their stuff out of their dorm rooms and into the Chancery (with Hadji's roommate Chris shyly offering to help Eric with his stuff amidst a crowd of hidden, smug smiles), all six of the SELF students made their way back up to the lodge where Benton, Race, Blair, Jim, and all of Major Crimes were waiting with the whole SELF population for a massive party.

The banner stretched across the greatroom read, "Happy 1st Anniversary SELF, Congrats on Finals, Welcome JJ, & Thank You Simon!" in celebration of the organization's birthday, the end of finals, the birth of Emeline's child, and Simon accepting the Council's offer to join them which had all fallen roughly within the same few weeks.

Jim frowned when he first saw the sign. "JJ?"

"Well, come on," Blair nudged him. "We can't call the girl Jeanne-Jaqueline forever. I mean, it's sweet Emeline wanted to name her after Jonny and you, but man, that's a bit much."

"Did you start the JJ thing, Chief?" Jim asked suspiciously.

"Nope!" he bounced with a happy smile. "Race started it. Jonny and I liked it, so we kept using it. Even Emeline has given up now."

"That poor girl," Simon said, breezing up to them. "Raised by a bunch of wise-guys."

"I think it'll work out okay," Jim tried to hide a smile. Even all the way across the room, he could see a sight that had become fairly commonplace at the lodge in the last few weeks: Joel Taggart, bomb technician and full captain in the police force, with an infant girl asleep in each arm while Hasna and Emeline sat nearby with warm, contented expressions.

Even Henri at his most impish couldn't bring himself to break that peaceful tableau.

"So, Councilman Banks," Blair said with bright impishness, "where are the rest of your esteemed colleagues?"

Simon snorted. " _Our_ esteemed colleagues are exactly where you'd expect," he tried to glare. "Dmitri and Ivanna are serving up the food. Race is off trying to drag Benton out of his office."

"Is he still working?" Jim asked. "I've barely seen him for weeks."

"Benton's been pushing his Sentinel locating and recruiting work up to eleven," Blair answered. "I think he's determined to single-handedly keep every single Sentinel in the world from being found by Zin through the simple expedient of bringing them all here first."

Just then, Race appeared. "No luck?" Blair asked.

"None. He's way more stubborn than any of those kids," Race groused.

"Let me give it a shot," Jim offered. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeves."

"What, left over from your days as a dirt-eater?" Race asked so softly only the Sentinel would pick up on it.

Unfortunately, in a room of Sentinels, most of whom were regularly practicing their lessons on their senses, more than a few heard it and snickering erupted throughout the space.

Jim glared direly at every single source of the chuckling before he headed off towards Benton's office.

"Speaking of those kids," Simon said, glancing around to place the younger contingent. They were gathered in a knot around the fireplace, talking animatedly. From the waving and facial expressions, he surmised Jonny was deep in the process of telling a rather involved story.

"Yeah?" Race asked.

"You noticed the...symmetry of it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Simon gathered his thoughts. "I mean, we're here setting up this whole SELF thing. But I remember Jim telling me a year ago he figured he'd be handing his cape over to Jonny someday. I didn't know he meant it."

"It's not deliberate," Blair said, suddenly softly. "But Hadji and Ivanna and Benton and I don't think it's an accident either. We've got a Sentinel-Guide pair, a strong one. We've got Jessie, and unless I've lost all ability to read people, I think Race and Benton both are kind of grooming her to take over SELF from Benton someday even if my gut says she'll go another direction. We've got Daryl who wants to go into the police to help things along on that side like you do," he nodded to Simon. "Now we've got Eric who isn't too far away from starting to get seriously into self-defense training to help on the guarding side like Race does. And Lai with the political savvy from her mom and the international experience. Ngama's coming in and he's going to be a great doctor someday, and Kaimi's going for her psych degree."

"That's kind of what I'm talking about," Simon nodded. "It's...it's everything you need to keep SELF alive and going long after the rest of us step down."

"And like I said," Blair answered, "we don't think it's an accident. We don't _Know_ that," he emphasized the 'Know' deliberately, "but we wouldn't be surprised. It's what Hadji always says. We are always where we are supposed to be. And that's true."

Race looked at Simon's expression and slapped him on the back. "You'll get used to it. There's only so much stuff we can explain, and you just gotta roll with it."

"I am not a bowling ball," Simon grumbled, but he smiled.

About then, Jim succeeded in pulling Benton into the greatroom and a cheer went up combined with a large amount of good-natured teasing for the doctor's absence.

"Speech!" shouted Dmitri, actually putting one foot up on a table and posing like a stalwart sea captain at the bow of a ship.

"From me?" Benton asked, blinking in surprise.

"Well, we'd ask Professor Guide, but then we'd be here all night!" Dmitri called back. "And Jim and Simon don't _do_ speeches, apparently."

All members of Major Crimes as well as Blair suddenly developed a collective coughing fit.

"Well...I didn't expect," Benton hesitated. Then, realizing that everyone in the room was going to look at him until he said something sensible, he straightened his shoulders.

"A year ago, many of us in this room were strangers. If not to one another, than to the truth of ourselves and our potential. Uncovering that potential takes wise leaders and courageous seekers, but most of all, it takes dedication and hard work. A year ago, none of us knew if we could be more, if we could do more, if we could forge an alliance and a friendship and a family beyond the small world in which we all lived. And today we know that we can."

He paused and looked around the room with pride shining in his face.

"It is the greatest honor and adventure of my life to stand here with you, working to better the world as only we may do. I thank you all, sincerely, for your effort and your trust and your courage. There is no tribe in the world as strong as this, and we shall only grow stronger and never diminish. Not because we are the same. Not because we are all Sentinels, or all Guides. But _because_ we are different. And as such, we are one."

Benton spread his arms. "Thank you everyone. Thank you for your hard work and congratulations for everything it has brought us all!"

There was a cheer and then Ivanna, pitching her voice to carry, shouted, "Now come get your dinner before it gets cold and I leave you to nothing but Luka's leftovers!"

That triggered a general stampede in the direction of the tables laid out at the far end of the room, though a few wiser (or less hungry) souls held back to let the initial crush pass.

At the fireplace, Daryl glanced around. Most of his friends had headed towards the food, and nobody else seemed to be nearby.

"I'm not sure I want to brave that horde," Jessie was saying. "Seems like ninja robots would be easier to get by than a room full of a hundred Sentinels who have been smelling the food cooking all day!"

"So, um, Jessie?" Daryl fought not to fidget.

"Yeah?" she tipped her head with a smile.

"Do you wanna…I mean, if you don't, it's cool…uh…there's a place and we could eat."

She blinked at him. Daryl quickly rewound his thoughts and came up with total gibberish. He coughed.

"I mean, um, I guess…" Daryl's world narrowed to his weird inability to speak. He wondered if it was possible to actually die of stupid talking – and he was starting to hope so.

"Are you asking me to dinner?" Jessie said softly.

"Yeah," Daryl managed. "Yeah, I wanted to know if you would…you know…go _on-a-date-with-me_." Maybe saying it faster would make it easier.

Jessie grinned with warm delight. "I would love to! When?"

Daryl breathed out a gust of air that carried with it an anxiety that had been coiled around his stomach for he didn't even know how long. "Well, uh, how's right now?" he glanced around. "I thought it might be good to get out of the crowd for a while and it looks like everybody's just hanging out. We'd be back before too late."

Jessie nodded. "Yeah, I like this plan. Let me just run and get my jacket." She paused before she turned to go, though, and reached up, squeezing his forearm with a quick, nervous grip. Then she spun and raced up the stairs.

Daryl found himself staring at a fireplace in the greatroom, trying to decide if he was more nervous now or less. And about where he'd take her to dinner, of course.

"Ahem."

Daryl turned and found himself face-to-face with seven men. Jim, Blair, Doctor Quest, Mister Bannon, Jonny, Hadji, _and_ his father were all looking at him with grim expressions. Brian and Henri were perched on a couch just a little ways away and grinning. Joel was across the room with the babies, and Lai and Eric were in line for food – and he'd never been so grateful that they, at least, were elsewhere. He had more than enough of an audience already. For less than a second Daryl wondered if he should escape, if he even _could_ escape. Then he tipped his head up and threw back his shoulders.

"What's up, guys?"

"Son," Simon said a little ruefully, "I'm on your side here. But you should know better than to ask a girl on a date surrounded by a bunch of overprotective Sentinels and fathers."

Daryl examined the faces before him more closely. Blair mostly looked proud and amused, same as his dad. Jim was trying to be stern, but he seemed to be in the same camp, too. It was the Quests who were a lot more serious, Jonny almost glaring.

Hadji stepped forward, his own expression of serenity a refuge amidst the rest. "Allow me."

Daryl wasn't certain he'd seen it, but he thought Race Bannon might have been an inch from stopping him, held back only by Doctor Quest's arm around his shoulders in a slightly firm grip.

"Is there something you want to say to me?" Daryl asked Hadji politely. He sure wasn't going to show weakness now.

"You must go where the heart leads you, lest you find yourself lost in darkness with no star to guide you. Likewise, the moon cannot tell the stars when to shine their brightest, because the stars shine for themselves."

Daryl sighed. "And what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

Hadji smiled. "Your affection for Jessie is clear, and I urge you to pursue it if that is your wish." His smile stayed oddly bright, though it twisted slightly as he glanced back at the rest of his family. "And we have _no_ standing to interrupt that pursuit."

"Unless," Jonny stepped to his shoulder, "you hurt her. If you _ever_ hurt Jessie…" Jonny broke off, and to Daryl's surprise, he was almost pale. "I…I'll…"

And Daryl understood. Well, obviously he understood the inherent threat that his head would be on the block if he hurt Jessie because clearly that was what Jonny _wanted_ to say. But he also understood what Jonny _couldn't_ say – that if Jessie was hurt, it wouldn't only be her heart that broke. That Jessie was a part of Jonny's heart that he was putting it in Daryl's hands. _I guess_ , Daryl realized with a start, _it's easier to share the secret about being a Sentinel than to trust me with someone he's been protecting since they were kids. The secret was just his. Jessie's like Hadji – worth more to him than himself_.

Daryl held out both his hands, right to Jonny and left to Hadji. "I understand." He looked up at Doctor Quest and Mister Bannon. "I really do. I will try my best not to hurt her, no matter how it turns out. I promise."

"Glad to hear it," Race nodded. At that signal, Jonny shook Daryl's hand and Hadji clasped his other hand warmly.

Suddenly Jim and Jonny both froze and tipped their heads slightly. And then the whole party broke up rather quickly. Jim, Blair, Jonny, Hadji, and Doctor Quest all made a beeline for the food on the other side of the room, while Race opted to lean on a wall nearby. The pair of Major Crimes officers stayed on their couch, snickering. Daryl saw a flash of motion on the balcony on the top floor and understood what the Sentinels must have heard. He grimaced.

 _Jessie would set their heads to rolling if she knew they were trying to protect her from me. As if she couldn't take me apart with just one pinky without any help at all!_

"Sure you're really up for all this scrutiny, son?" Simon asked, having not been frightened off with the rest of them.

"Uh, yeah, sure," he shrugged. Then Jessie appeared on the stairway and he swallowed, watching her long hair float behind her like fire in the late afternoon sunlight that streamed through the high windows. "Definitely."

"Hmm," Simon rumbled. As Jessie approached, he intercepted her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes, Simon?" she asked brightly.

"I just…" He wanted to give her the same speech, but he just couldn't somehow. So he sighed. "Be good, Jessie."

She grinned. "Come on, Simon. _I'm_ not the troublemaker around here."

Across the room, Jonny burst out laughing, startling everyone in the vicinity. Of course, he'd been in the middle of taking a sip from a cup of punch at the time and began to cough, obliging Hadji to pound on his back. Jessie looked across the room with a harsh glare. She started to mutter under her breath. Simon watched, fascinated, as Jonny's ears turned red and many other Sentinels in the room started to chuckle.

"I don't want to know, do I?" he asked her.

"No, sir," she shook her head as Daryl joined them. "Probably not."

"Don't stay out too late," Race called from where he was pretending to lounge nonchalantly.

Jessie rolled her eyes. "Yes, sir. Love you, dad!"

"Bye dad!" Daryl smiled. Then, with only the slightest goofy look of shyness, he extended a hand to Jessie. Simon watched as Jessie actually blushed a little but took his hand, interweaving her pale fingers with his dark ones. They started to head for the door, already talking about where to go for food.

"Be kind and gentle to each other," Simon said softly.

"I wouldn't worry," Blair said, suddenly at Simon's elbow with an offering of a piece of cake, his partner trailing in his wake.

Simon raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" Blair smiled a serene, wise smile Simon tended to associate more with Hadji or even Ivanna. Maybe it was a Guide thing.

"Something you're not telling us, Chief?" Jim said.

"Not really," Blair shrugged. "But…well…let's just say we," he looked across the room to Hadji who raised his head and nodded, despite being far too distant to have heard Blair at all, "have a good feeling about this."

"You do?"

"Yeah," Blair smiled. He leaned against Jim, almost upsetting Jim's own plate, but the detective had excellent reflexes and wound up balancing the plate on Sandburg's shoulder.

"About Daryl and Jessie, or…?" Jim asked.

"Right now?" Blair closed his eyes in a soul-deep contentment. "Everything. Right now we have a good feeling about everything."

-==OOO==-

End of Arc 3


End file.
